Ordinary Story
by Lyxie
Summary: AU LZ fluff! Meet Zelda, misunderstood 16 year old female, and meet Link, her new guardians' son. Oh dear... Chaos and humiliation ensue. Next chapter, number... EEK! The galaxy rips open and chaos rules. Not really, but that would be better than this.
1. Welcome to the Jungle

**Chaptero**** Uno, otherwise known as our lovely heroine's introduction to the jungle**

                It was the day after Independence Day. Remnants of fireworks littered the streets, accompanied by beer cans, proof of the previous night's festivities. Zelda stared out of the bus window, feeling quite bored, as her MP3 player cranked out Guns 'N Roses' "Welcome to the Jungle." Though the upbeat song normally put Zelda into a mood so giddy that she could scream and dance from glee, she felt that the lyrics were perfectly fitting for the lovely, lovely road trip she was making. Not even road trip, really – her father was shipping her off to live with some associates, saying that a change of scenery would be good for her. Zelda doubted that there was much truth in his words; he probably just wanted her out so he could mix business with pleasure and feel no guilt. Either way, though, Zelda was being sent away from home for a year, maybe more, probably more, to live with these people she'd never met before.

_"Welcome to the jungle, we've got fun and games  
We got everything you want, honey, we know the names  
We are the people that can find whatever you may need  
If you got the money, honey, we got your disease"_

                "I'm sure you do," Zelda grumbled. "I've got the money, now you're giving me a disease. Bleck."

                Though Zelda's inner self was quite happy about a change of scenery and escaping from her overindulgent (where women came, anyway) CEO father, she couldn't help but feel a little bitter about being sent away like some sort of nuisance.

                "Bleh."

                The bus slowly pulled to a stop and Zelda stashed her MP3 player in the pocket of her gray zip-up hoodie, slipping her tremendously huge headphones to sit around her neck. Though they were ugly, Zelda loved those headphones because they successfully blocked out all noise, much better than the dinky little ear buds her MP3 player had originally come with.

                The young woman stood, sweeping her wavy blonde ponytail over her shoulder to rest on her back and grabbed the small bag filled with junk (snacks and a few smutty romance novels, not to mention several spare packs of batteries) from underneath her seat as the bus doors opened. She stepped into the aisle and waited patiently to exit the bus, faint strains of Guns 'N Roses floating up to her from her head phones.

Zelda stepped off the bus and looked around. Her father had shown her a picture of the associates she'd be staying with – a blonde haired man and his lovely silver-haired wife, and their adopted son and two birth daughters. The son was supposedly around Zelda's age, though she couldn't be sure. The picture she'd been given had been several years old.

                "You know where you are? You're in the jungle, baby. You're gonna die," Zelda quoted under her breath, feeling that the lyrics couldn't speak more truly of her current circumstances.  Eyeing her surroundings, she eventually spotted the family she'd be staying with. Funny, though, how the people looked so much nicer in real life than in the photograph, Zelda thought, feeling a little comforted. She slowly made her way over to the family, who had been searching the crowd of passengers.

                "Um, excuse me," stuttered Zelda, feeling a little nervous. "But are you…"

                "The Tudors?" asked the husband, his blue eyes crinkling with a smile. "Yes. You must be Zelda." He seemed younger than his wife – his blond hair only had one streak of gray, and he was attractive for an older man, not to mention had a neat appearance.

                Zelda nodded. "Erm, yes, sir, I am," and brushed an imaginary fleck of dirt off of her jeans with the knees torn open, trying her very best not to study the tops of her scuffed up Doc Martins.

                "It's very nice to meet you, Zelda," came the slightly husky voice of his wife.

                Zelda smiled as best she could.  "Thank you."  The wife's lips curved pleasantly upward, and Zelda studied her, noting that she was most definitely an ex-hippie, from the loose peasant blouse and wavy skirt to the silver cat-stripe tattoos under her eyes, but unlike most ex-hippies, she radiated cool. Zelda turned her focus to their son, who she found to be quite likeably handsome. He wore a green baseball cap and, to Zelda's infinite joy, a David Bowie tee. His hands were shoved into the pockets of his baggy jeans, and though some might have found his nonchalant appearance unnerving, Zelda found she quite liked it.

                Next, Zelda looked at the two little girls, one of whom was clinging to her older brother's legs. They couldn't have been much older than ten, both wearing identical green dresses. It was apparent to Zelda, however, that the two girls took after a separate parent. One girl had blond hair pinned into two neat pigtails and looked very clean and well behaved overall, while the other girl had dyed green hair (Zelda admitted, the kid had guts) and a very carefree-looking appearance.

                Mr. Tudor noticed Zelda's studying of his family, and smiled. "Allow me to introduce everybody. I'm Haft, and this is my wife, Impa. Feel free to call us by our first names."

                "Thank you, Mr… Haft," Zelda said, smiling. Haft smiled as well and nodded in approval, and turned his eyes on his son.

                "This is Link." Haft gestured with one hand to his son, who was still staring plainly at the ground.

                "Link." Zelda tested the name on her tongue, like a toddler with a prospective toy. "It's nice to meet you."  He looked up, his bright blue eyes meeting hers, and nodded once. Impa sighed and rolled her eyes, but smiled all the same.

                "And these are our daughters," Haft stated as he smiled down at the two girls. "Saria," he pointed to the green-haired girl who was clinging to Link's legs, "and Jayda." The little blonde smiled at Zelda, whereas Saria peered at Zelda for a moment curiously then went back to plucking at Link's pant leg.

                "It's very nice to meet you both," replied Zelda, smiling down at them.

                "Now that we have introductions done with," beamed Haft, who seemed like the jovial sort, "let's get your things, Zelda."

                "All right."  Walking over to the luggage compartment of the bus, Zelda pointed at two large suitcases, before lifting out a third long, slim suitcase.  "Those two are mine," she said. "And so is this, but I'd prefer to get this one myself."

                Saria peered around Link's legs and walked over to Zelda "Why?" she inquired, acknowledging Zelda for the first time. "What's in it?"

                Zelda grinned. "My most precious possession." She bent down to the little girl's level, patting her on the head. "It's a bass guitar."

                "You play bass guitar?" This voice was deeper, and Zelda looked up, surprised. Link was squinting at the suitcase, as though trying to see through the fabric. "You don't seem like the type."

                Zelda sighed leisurely. "I've found it's better not to make assumptions." Zelda smirked to herself at the mild challenge thrown his way, standing up and pulling the suitcase to her chest as Haft retrieved the two larger suitcases from the luggage pile the driver was currently building.

                "You didn't bring very much," Haft commented as Impa deftly took one of the suitcases.

                Zelda shrugged.  "I'm not like most of my peers.  I only brought what I felt I needed. Clothes, a few books, some CDs, a few small belongings, some products I use and my laptop. Oh, and my amp."

                "Ah," said Impa as she turned to her son. "Link, why don't you get this one?"

                Haft looked at the fabric of the suitcase as well, curiosity evident. "What kind of bass do you play?" Link's ears seemed to perk up a little as he made his way over to the suitcase Impa had set on the ground, though maybe it was just Zelda's imagination. He pulled out the handle and began to roll it along behind him as he proceeded to the car.

                "It's a Fender," Zelda stated, chest swelling with pride. "Vintage '57 precision bass. Plays really well, cost me a pretty penny."

                "You bought it yourself?" Impa asked.

                "Took me three summers to earn enough money.  I wouldn't let Dad buy it for me. I wanted to earn it myself."

                Haft laughed, a deep sound that made Zelda feel a little more at ease. "I can respect that," he grinned as they reached the car. Zelda grinned as well. She was beginning to like these people already.

                "My bass is like my baby," Zelda told them as she helped to load her two large suitcases into the back of the silver SUV. "Do you want help with that?"

                Link gave a grunt. "I've got it." Zelda glared at him, but stepped back and let him heave her suitcase into the back of the car. She securely tucked away the suitcase containing her beloved bass, making sure it wouldn't be damaged in any way, before allowing Haft to shut the trunk and usher her into the car.

                Zelda found herself sitting next to Link; she eyed him a moment before turning her attention to Impa as she began to speak.

                "I hope you don't mind.  We're getting our home remodeled and didn't have time to prepare a proper bedroom for you on such short notice, so you're going to be sleeping in the basement with Link," the elder woman commented

                "It's fine." She pushed the thought of staying in a concrete, possibly soundproof basement with an attractive young man out of her mind, and forced herself to continue. "I've always wondered what it might be like to sleep in a basement for a while."

                "The basement isn't all dusty and stuff," Saria added. "It's cool. Like a real room."

                "Yes." Impa seemed distracted as Haft made a left turn.  "_Signal_, dear. It's walled and carpeted and air conditioned. The other rooms are just torn up to bits, and I don't think you want to stay there. The girls are staying with Haft and me."

                "No, it's fine."  Zelda smiled, attempting to reassure the woman, though indecent thoughts still ran rampant in her imagination.  "I don't mind."

                "Good."  Reassured, Impa turned back around to face the front.

_"Welcome to the jungle we take it day by day  
If you want it you're gonna bleed but it's the price to pay  
And you're a very sexy girl that's very hard to please  
You can taste the bright lights but you won't get there for free"_

                Zelda looked down, startled. Somehow, she'd managed to bump the volume on her MP3 player, blasting the Guns 'N Roses song she'd put on repeat out of her headphones.

                "Oh, is that 'Welcome to the Jungle' by Guns 'N Roses?" Link asked, curious.

                "Yeah." Zelda grinned in relief, feeling a little bit better about the mysterious boy now that she knew he was probably as much of an 80's music junkie as she, judging from the David Bowie tee and all….

                "What else do you have on there?" Link cocked his head, blue eyes meeting Zelda's own violet.  Awkwardly, she pulled her MP3 player out from the pocket of her hoodie, unplugging it from her headphones, and handed it to Link.

                "Hm, let's see… Guns 'N Roses, Def Leppard, Led Zepplin, The Clash- they're great, love them, The Pixies, Duran Duran … David Bowie?" Link looked up at Zelda.

                Haft laughed. "You've just made a new friend." He turned right, saying over his wife's criticism of his lack of signal, "Link's a Bowie maniac."

                "Am not," stated Link rather sulkily, though Zelda couldn't help but notice that he looked rather delighted at discovering that she too shared his love of Bowie, not to mention that he seemed much more friendly than before as he continued to scroll through her list of artists.

                Saria's little voice came wafting dreamily up from the back seat. "Link likes old music." Saria paused, and continued, "and he likes rock music."

                "What do you like, Saria?" Zelda turned around to smile at the little green-haired girl.

                "Anything," she replied.

                "Old music is stupid," stated Jayda contemptuously, crinkling her delicate little nose. "I much prefer Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson."

                "She's already living the life of a Pop Culture addict; just like her father, back in his day, if I remember correctly," Impa commented wryly from the front seat.

                "Now come, dear," coaxed Haft teasingly. "She's not half as bad as I was."

                Impa gave a laugh. "Yet," she stated good humouredly. Zelda found herself smiling, and snickered a little as Link exclaimed over the extensive list of songs by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

                "I can play 'By The Way' on my bass," commented Zelda offhandedly as she turned to look out the window at the stores whizzing past.

                Link gawked. "Really? The riff on that is intense."

                "It's not that bad," Zelda commented and went back to staring out the window, leaving Link to dig through her music stashes.

                _Funny,_ Zelda mused to herself. _You seem to have managed to win these people over in the space of ten short minutes, whereas in all of sixteen years, you couldn't win your father over at all._

                Impa and Haft chatted amiably with one another and the little girls only fought a little on the drive, to Zelda's infinite relief, and Link seemed occupied with the MP3 player, occasionally asking Zelda about one file or another, so she was surprised when they reached the house so quickly. It was situated on a grassy hill, a good distance away from the top of the incline, which seemed almost cliff-like. Zelda stepped out of the car and was immediately assailed with the smell of sea-salt in the air.

                "Dad didn't tell me you lived on the beach," Zelda commented.

                "Really?" Haft seemed surprised as he wheeled one of Zelda's suitcases into the house, calling over his shoulder, "you'll have to go take a look at the sea, then."

                "Take the bags in first," Impa instructed. "Best to just get it all done with at once."

                "Let me get my guitar." Zelda hopped out of the seat, walking to the trunk and grabbing the slimmer suitcase containing her precious instrument.

                "Link, take this inside, then show Zelda to the beach." Impa hoisted out a suitcase and handed it to her son with a smile.

                Link sighed, but complied all the same. "Right," he said, handing Zelda her MP3 player and rolling the suitcase along behind him. "This way, Zelda. Do you want me to get that guitar for you?"

                "I've got it." Zelda adjusted the strap of the smaller suitcase on her shoulder and followed Link into the house. She found herself in a cozy kitchen, but was led by Link out of it and down a broad hallway, past a room in a state of modeling disarray into a large, formal foyer, dominated by an elegant spiral staircase. In the wall just below the stairs was a door, which Link kicked open, revealing a narrower, straighter staircase.

"This way." He nodded down the stairs, carefully pulling Zelda's suitcase down the dim passageway. At the bottom, he flicked on the light, revealing what was to be their shared living quarters.

It was nice, Zelda had to give it that much. The hard wood floor was shiny and new, and Link had put down several large rugs: one in the shape of a foot, one in the shape of a tic-tac-toe board, and another that was a simple blue and red polka dot rug. She was pleased to see, also, that the basement was very large, with its own separate bathroom that Zelda discovered also contained the washer and dryer.

                Zelda walked through the large, square basement, noting the nice stereo, the TV with a vintage couch, the large collection of DVDs, and the two mattresses thrown on the floor. One was made up in rumpled blue Hawaiian print with a plaid comforter randomly thrown atop it – Zelda supposed this one was Link's. The other bed was made up neatly in powder blue sheets, with a simple white quilt thrown over it. Zelda noted the suitcase Haft had brought in sitting next to one of two mismatched chest-of-drawers, a scratched up, oriental-style piece that added to the overall image of hodgepodge that the basement presented.

                "There," said Link, dropping her suitcase by its twin and dusting off his hands. "Let's show you to the ocean."

                Zelda smiled in eager anticipation "Right," she said, following him out of the basement and back through the house, out through the kitchen and up the hill. Zelda discovered that the incline had not ended in a cliff as she had originally thought, but instead changed into a small, steep slope with several stone-hewn steps cut into the edge. Link hopped down them and Zelda cautiously followed, landing neatly on the sand and staring around at the sparkling blue ocean.

                It was easily the most beautiful view Zelda had ever seen. The clean ocean sparkled like a thousand blue diamonds, and to her left and right, the white sand stretched out to meet the horizon. It was only ten meters to the sea, and Zelda eagerly ran forward, standing just before the edge where the crystalline tide washed ashore, picking up a seashell and examining it in her hand.

                "This is really nice," Zelda remarked, dropping the shell and gazing at the stretch of ocean. ****

                "It is," nodded Link. "And we're lucky, too. We own it, have it all to ourselves. No stupid pothead surfers or whatever invading our beaches. It's great."

                "You don't like surfers?" Zelda asked, surprised. Link hadn't seemed the kind to form prejudices. But then, as she'd said earlier, best not to make assumptions.

                Link threw up his hands in defense. "Never said that," he stated, flustered. "I surf, a little. I just don't like the idiots who think they own the beaches."

                Zelda nodded. "I can understand that."

                They stood in silence for a moment staring out at the ocean, and then Link sighed.

                "Well," he said, "we should be getting up to the house. Mom will probably want my help making lunch."

                "Right." Zelda followed Link back up the steps to the large, Victorian-style house and past the blue, sawdust scented dumpster that was evidence of remodeling. Link easily kicked open the screen door to the kitchen and Zelda followed him in, to find Impa hard at work on some food at the counter.

                "What did you think, Zelda?" Impa asked kindly as she set to a full, round, deliciously red tomato with a rather large knife.

                "It's really nice," said Zelda with a smile.

                "We thought so too, dear. If you'd like, you can go unpack, then come back up here for lunch."

                Zelda grinned. "Alright," she said as she proceeded out of the kitchen. However, she stopped just short of the exit, turned back around, and stared for a moment at Saria, who was perched cross-legged atop the fridge with a calm expression on her face. Shaking her head, Zelda proceeded out of the kitchen and down to the basement.

The young woman trotted through the large room and to the scratched oriental dresser she'd seen before, and opened the drawers. Satisfied at their emptiness, threw her first suitcase on her bed and unzipped it. It was her junk suitcase; she pulled out her amp and carried it over to the stereo, then pulled her guitar out of its own suitcase (it had a wavy, almost stripe-like pattern on the body that Zelda adored) and leaned it against the amp. Then she pulled out the CDs and piled them atop the chest of drawers, along with the few books she'd brought. Next came her makeup and jewelry box, and after that, her laptop. Her shower things she left in the small canvas bag she'd brought it in, dropping it next to her pillow.

                It took quite a while before Zelda felt she was unpacked and organized to her satisfaction.

                Hungry, she walked up the stairs to the first floor and looked around, then decisively made her way back to the kitchen, where Impa had fixed some deli sandwiches and a small pot of soup. Zelda was surprised at how comfortable she felt with these people, and how, in a mere thirty minutes, they felt like family and their mid-remodeled beach house seemed more like home than her gigantic mansion and C.E.O. father ever had.

                "Hello Zelda," beamed Impa as the young blond entered. "Did you get yourself unpacked?"

                "Yes, thanks, Impa." Zelda unzipped the hoodie to reveal the simple maroon spaghetti strap top she wore underneath as she eyed a sandwich, mouth watering. "That looks really good."

                "Thank you. Help yourself."  Zelda eagerly reached for the sandwich and dropped it onto a plate, and gratefully took a bowl of soup offered to her by Impa.

                "I believe Link and Saria are out on the patio," Impa said. "Why don't you go join them?"

                "Alright." Zelda pushed the screen door open and stepped out onto the patio, where she saw Saria and Link sitting on the steps.

                "Hi, Zelda," Saria said, smiling.

                "Hi, Saria. Hi, Link. Mind if I join you two?"

                Link grinned. "Feel free," he said as he scooted over to make room. Zelda sat down, placing her plate on her knees, and looked around the grassy yard, destroyed slightly by the remodeling crew.

                "Where's the workers?" she asked curiously. Link stared at Zelda for a moment as though she were crazy then saw her gaze on the large dumpster.

                "Oh," his eyes widened in realization. "We told them not to come in today. They'll be back tomorrow, though," he added.

                "I don't like them," Saria commented seriously. "They make too much noise."

                Link nodded in agreement.  "They do make a lot of noise.  Makes me glad the basement is sound-proof."

                "Is it really, now?" asked Zelda, curious. "Hmmm..."

                "Yeah," laughed Link. "What's especially nice is being able to sleep in. Can't hear Mom or Dad yelling at us to wake up, or the noisy workmen stomping up and down the stairs."

                Saria scowled. "Hurrah. Brother gets to sleep in and I don't." The little girl sourly shoved the last of her sandwich into her mouth, looking disgruntled.

                "Your mom is a really good cook," Zelda commented.

                "Yeah," Link and Saria agreed- then both burst out laughing.

                "What?" Zelda asked, bewildered.

                "It's just that Mom used to be a terrible cook," explained Saria. "Then she went to cooking school."

                "More like Dad forced her to go."  Link grinned.

                "I see," laughed Zelda, amused.

                "Oh, um, Zelda," Link began, looking shifty.

                "Yes?" Zelda asked expectantly. 

                 Link bit his lip. "Are you allergic to cats?"

                This was not what Zelda had been anticipating, and she burst out laughing in surprise. Link scowled, and Zelda apologized. "Sorry, Link. That's just not what I was expecting. No, I'm not allergic to cats. Why?"

                "Valoo," stated Saria indifferently.

                "Who?" Zelda asked in curiosity, and shortly found herself assaulted by a fat, white, prissy cat with a very grumpy face and puffy tail.

                "Valoo," repeated Link, prying the cat off of Zelda's hoodie and petting him on the head. "He's our cat."

                "Looks more like a she."

                "Don't tell Valoo that."  ****

Zelda gulped down the rest of her soup and stood, brushing off her jeans.  "Why doesn't somebody show me around the town?" she asked over her shoulder as she took her dishes into the vacated kitchen and washed them off, putting them in the dish washer.

                "There's not much to it. I'll show you tomorrow," Link replied, following her into the kitchen. "We'll want to escape then, because the workmen will be back. For now, though, we can hang out in the basement or whatever."

                "Can I hang out with you?" Saria asked eagerly.

                "Sure, Saria," Link grinned, patting the little girl on the head.

                 Saria turned her big green eyes upon Zelda, imploring her even as she jumped about"Can I try playing your bass, Zelda?"

                Zelda smiled kindly. "Yeah, but you have to be careful not to break it."

                "I won't hurt it, I promise," stated Saria seriously.

                Zelda smiled, "I know."  She allowed the little girl to take her by the hand and drag her down into the basement, enjoying the odd sense of belonging welling slowly in her chest.

                Zelda had a very good feeling about how life might be from now on.

- - - -

                True to his word, Link showed Zelda around the town the next day.

                "Like I said, it's not much," he commented as he showed her around. "Everything worth visiting is in the city, which we have to take a train to get to."

                The town was nothing special- small, sleepy in the summer heat, but overall a nice place. There were stores here and there, and trees everywhere, providing shade for those wanting to escape the heat of day. It was an older style town, around the same age as Link's house, and had a sort of charm that Zelda had never seen in a place before.

                "It's nice," she said blandly, looking around. "It's not cramped, like everything was back home. Well, except for the mansions. Those weren't cramped, but everything else was."

                "Do you miss it?" Link asked curiously.

                "No," Zelda smiled sincerely. "I like things better here."

- - - - ****

                Later that day, after they had returned to the house, Impa dragged Link, Saria, and Jayda out for a few errands. She'd offered to bring Zelda along, but the young woman had declined, saying that she still had a few things to organize. So that was how Zelda found herself in front of the huge stereo in the basement, fiddling with a few knobs and pressing the "play" button on one of Link's _Metallica _ CDs. Satisfied at the intensity of volume, Zelda hopped onto her mattress, hairbrush in hand, and began to scream along with the lead, using her brush as a microphone. She'd always wanted to try something like this, but at home there had always been servants around, not to mention lack of stereo power. Here, though….

                "Sleep with one eye open, gripping your pillow tiiiiight!" Zelda closed her eyes and jumped up and down, head banging, blond strands flying everywhere. "Instant light, enter night! Take my hand, we're off to never never land!"

                By the time Impa, Link, and the girls got home, Zelda was feeling satisfied, despite her pounding headache.

                "I've been missing out," she commented to herself.

- - - - ****

                That night, Zelda and Link sat across from one another, she on her bed and he on his, talking as they listened to silly old 80's CDs Link had managed to dig up.

                "So, why did you say your dad shipped you down here, again?" Link inquired, plucking at a thread on his soft flannel pajama pants.****

                "Because he's a jerk, and not a real father," Zelda answered bitterly. "At least, not a good father. I haven't even been here forty-eight hours and your family is already more a family to me than mine ever was."

                "What about your mom?" Link asked.

                "Died in childbirth." Zelda rubbed at her eyes tiredly before continuing. "Never knew her. Heard stories, though. Apparently, she was loads better than my dad. Sometimes I miss her."

                "Yeah," agreed Link pensively, leaning back. "I never knew my parents, but even still, I can't help but wonder what they were like."

                "I don't blame you," responded Zelda. "At least you have Haft and Impa, though. They're great people."

                "Yeah," agreed Link. "They are. And now, you have them too."

                "Yeah," nodded Zelda. "I suppose I do." She turned her head to watch the stereo for a moment, and began to hum along lightly, smiling at Link.

_"But I won't cry for yesterday_

_There's an ordinary world  
Somehow I have to find  
And as I try to make my way  
To the ordinary world  
I will learn to surviv_e"__

"You're a good singer," Link commented. Zelda smiled in reply, blushing lightly at the compliment.

"Thanks, Link. Nobody's ever told me that before."

"You should join a band when school starts," he offered with a grin. "I'm sure you can find somebody to form one with you."

"Yeah," agreed Zelda with a smile. "So, what else do you want to talk about?"


	2. Say WHAT?

**Chapter 2, in which our heroine adjusts to her new life aided by fireworks, old records, PMS, and a smutty novel or two.******

            Days turned to weeks, and Zelda found herself more and more at home with the Tudor family. Though this was a very good thing, being completely comfortable had its pitfalls.

            Such as the one time Zelda got bored and decided to go on a movie binge. She thought nobody was home, and being the lazy girl she was, after she got out of the shower that morning, she pulled on a simple white tank and a pair of lacy boy-shorts panties, opting to skip pants since she didn't like them much anyway. Deciding she wanted food while she watched her movie, Zelda stumbled into the kitchen and grabbed a pint of chocolate-chip cookie dough ice cream and commandeered the 42" plasma screen TV in the entertainment room, making a little fort out of the couch pillows and watching the sappiest movies she could find in Impa and Haft's extensive DVD collection.

            Of course, what Zelda didn't count on was that Link would be returning early from whatever it was he had gone to do (Zelda never asked, as part of her had decided she really didn't want to know), and, unfortunately, our dear heroine did not hear Link's entrance through the kitchen.

            Now, when Link heard the sound of crying coming from the entertainment room, he dashed in, worried something had happened. What he didn't count on, however, was to find Zelda sitting in front of the TV in nothing but a tank and very lacy panties that didn't hide much, eating a pint of ice cream and doing leg-lifts as she petted Valoo and watched a very sappy romance movie.

            Horrified, Link slowly backed out of the room, and all would have been well for both Link and Zelda had a chair not randomly appeared in Link's path. Subsequently, Link tripped over it, alerting Zelda, and our hero found himself with a mortified heroine on his hands, not to mention a tub of ice cream smashed atop head.

            Then there was the time Zelda did a home-spa in the bathroom in the basement (which was actually a very nice bathroom, despite the fact that it WAS in a basement). She whipped up an avocado facial mask and some leave-in conditioner that would supposedly lighten, strengthen, and add luster to her hair and sat down atop the laundry machine with a green face and curlers and foil in her hair in a fluffy red bathrobe and bunny slippers to read a smutty romance novel.

            Impa called down the stairs, "Hey, you down there, come get some cookies." Zelda assumed Impa was talking to her, whereas Link, who was sitting in his Homer Simpson boxers, playing videogames in the basement, just around the corner from the bathroom, thought Impa was talking to him. Unfortunately, Link rounded the corner just as Zelda opened the bathroom door.

            "ACK!" Zelda screamed, and slammed the door – though not before Link had gotten a full view of her with a green face, curlers and foil in her hair, wearing a fluffy red bathrobe and bunny slippers, and carrying a book titled _Passion,_ no less. Zelda didn't speak to Link for two days after that incident, despite their combined living quarters.

            However, for every time that either our hero or (more often) our heroine was humiliated, there were many a good time to make up for them.

            "Hey, Zelda," called Link one afternoon, before sneezing and coming down into the basement where she was reclining in front of the stereo covered in dust.

            "Been playing in the attic?" Zelda inquired wryly, raising one eyebrow.

            "I found a whole bunch of old records up there."  He grinned happily.  "And I found a turntable. Come on. Help me bring them down here so we can set it up."

            The two spent several hours hauling boxes down into the basement and setting up the turntable, and many more hours digging through the boxes and boxes of records, exclaiming over their finds.

            "Look at this!" Link would yell. "It's the first Pink Floyd album!" or,

            "Yuck." Zelda grimaced. "One hit wonders."

            One such lazy summer afternoon just after Independence Day, Link mysteriously vanished for several hours, leaving Zelda to her own devices as Impa and the girls were shopping, and Haft was off at work.

            "Hey, Link," chirped Zelda when he came in several hours later covered in sweat yet looking pleased. "Where'd you go?"

            "You'll see," he winked at her then went downstairs without another word to shower.

            All through dinner that night, Link was positively beaming.

            "Now what's got you so happy, hmm?" Impa asked her son, poking him with her fork.

            "I think Link has a girlfriend," Jayda yelled, causing Saria to snort into her plate of goulash and Zelda to cover her amused smile with her napkin.

            "Oh?" Haft asked, raising an eyebrow and turning to face Link. "Is that so, Link?"

            "No way," chirped Saria. "Link's too geeky to get a girl."

            "Affirmed," Link replied with a nod. "I'm far too nerdy."

            "How are you nerdy?" Zelda asked, curiousity evident in her eyes. Sure, sometimes Link would lock himself in the basement, yelling "GET 'EM" randomly every once in a while, but she didn't see how that was quite so nerdy…

            "Most of what Link does is play on the computer," explained Jayda seriously. "And his friends are all geeks."

            "Know what their idea of a party is?" Saria asked Zelda.

            "What?"

            "They all take their computers over to someone's house, hook them up with a bunch of wires, drink pure caffeine and play games all night."

            "We don't drink pure caffeine," argued Link sheepishly. "Just a lot."

            "What, like eighty billion cokes?" Zelda asked in amusement.

            Link grimaced then smiled. "No," he answered, "Cokes are weak. We drink Bawls."

            Zelda promptly fell off her chair, to the infinite amusement of the rest of the family.

            "It's a caffeine drink," explained Haft. "And it's quite good, I might add."

            "And it's spelled with a W," added Link, though he was still grinning despite his ridicule.

            "Whatever helps you sleep at night," Zelda told him dryly as she climbed back into her chair and went back to her stew.

            "Speaking of your friends, Link, how are they?" Impa smiled over her fork at her son, imploring him.

            "They're good," Link stated nonchalantly. "Anju and Kafei are still together, and Anju has a job working at Sonic. Rosh still has his job at the movie theater, and Cavor's got a paper pushing job."

            "And Mikau?" Haft asked expectantly.

            "Same old Mikau. Not doing much of anything."

            "When are you going to introduce Zelda to all your friends?" Impa asked.

            "Umm…" Link shot Zelda a glance over the bread and furrowed his eyebrows.

            "Zelda, would you like to come to our next LAN party with me? You can meet everybody. You might even like it."

            There was silence at the table.

            Zelda blinked once, blinked twice, shook her head and smiled.

            "Sure, Link," lilted Zelda. "I'll go. It would be interesting to see. I've never even heard of a Dan party."

            "LAN," corrected Link with an easy smile. "Local Area Network."

            "Geek," mumbled Saria.

- - - -

            That night, Zelda found herself lying facedown on her mattress and staring blankly at an infomercial on the muted TV as Link tinkered with an old computer in the corner. Zelda rolled over to face him and propped herself up on one elbow as she watched his profile.

            _He's pretty cute_, she couldn't help herself thinking. _I'd never guess he's a computer nerd. But then again, even the computer nerds in this town surf. I think._

            Just at that moment, Link turned his head and met Zelda's eyes, his face splitting into a charming grin. His mouth moved as he said something, but Zelda couldn't hear him. Why couldn't she hear him? Oh, yes, that was right – she'd plugged her ears with some blasting techno that she'd found somewhere and fallen in love with.

            "What?" she asked, pulling her headphones off of her left ear and cocking her head to the side.

            "That's what I asked you," replied Link, swiveling around so that he faced Zelda fully, dragging his gutted computer around in front of him.

            "What are you doing?" Zelda asked him interestedly as he set to work with a screwdriver.

            "Killing time," he mumbled, glancing at his electronic watch. "We have about another half hour before Dad and Mom'll be asleep. Then we can go."

            "Go where?" Zelda inquired, but Link just smiled and shook his head secretively and went back to what he was doing. Zelda sighed in frustration, pulled her headphones back on, stared for a moment at the woman waxing her leg on the screen, then pulled off the right side of her headphones and crawled over to Link.

            "Explain to me what all this is," she demanded, pointing to the jumble of wires.

            "It'll take a while," Link warned.

            "We have time."

            "I'd only confuse you," stated Link as he carefully unscrewed something within the bowels of the machine.

            "So confuse me." Zelda was beginning to feel a little snappy, which only worsened with Link's next statement.

            "I'd rather not."

            "Liiiiiink," protested Zelda with a whine.

            "What?" he asked cluelessly. Zelda sighed in frustration.

            "Nothing. Never mind." She sulked back over to her mattress and stared broodingly at the TV as she hugged her pillow to her chest. She pulled the phones back over her ear and cranked up Blue Sun, immersing herself in the beat. She felt Link slide up behind her, but didn't bother to turn as she felt his hand on her shoulder.

            He probably said something then, but Zelda didn't hear it and didn't care. She felt him carefully pry away her headphones and heard him say, "Look, Zel, I don't think it would interest you at all. It would bore you, really, it would. So don't worry about it, okay?"

            "Okay."  Zelda sighed, allowing herself to relax a little into Link's touch.

            "Good," smiled Link, patting her hair. "We still have a while, but with any luck, Mom and Dad will be asleep soon and we can leave, okay?"

            "Okay."

_(37 minutes and 18 seconds later)_

            "Link, you are such a moron that I have no idea why I am even tolerating staying in the same living quarters with you… what if we get caught? And why did you even buy those anyway? Independence Day was three weeks ago… Link, I hate you. I hope you know that. Goddesses…"

            "Quiet, Zelda," laughed Link, hoisting his box of fireworks higher on his hip as they stole through the abandoned streets. "This'll be fun. Besides, there's no fireworks ban here, and since everybody lives a ways out of town, we won't be waking anybody up."

            "But what if we're caught?"

            "We're not doing anything wrong."

            "I hope you burn in Abyss," Zelda hissed. Link suddenly stopped then, holding out his right arm so that Zelda bumped into him.

            "What?"

            There was an expression of pure bliss on his face as he beheld what was before him. "Perfect," he whispered, staring at the empty parking lot in front of him as though it was a gift from the divine three.

            "I hate you."

            "You're only saying that," teased Link. "Once we get things blowing up, you'll be a little happier. Come on. And be sure not to set off anything where it can hit a street lamp."

            "I hate you."

            "Come on now, Zelda," Link implored, taking her by the sleeve of her hoodie and dragging her into the parking lot. "You'll have fun. Trust me."

            "Link, to be quite frank, at this moment in time, I trust you about as far as I could throw you."

            "Be a bad girl for once, then."  Link grinned. "You haven't had enough fun in your life."

            "Link, I hate you."

            "Love you too, Zellie."

            "Don't call me Zellie," grumbled Zelda as Link set down the box with a soft "thunk" and kicked it open. He knelt and pulled out a long, thin stick, and held it out to Zelda.

            "What's that?"

            "Roman candle," stated Link. "Never done one?"

            "Never," Zelda replied warily. "What do I do?"

            "Point it up," Link told her, walking over to her to position her arm and wrist. "Be sure it's pointed away from you, even the bottom end. They can shoot out that way. Okay, good," he said, touching her hand lightly. "Remember exactly how you're holding it right now. Got it?"

            "Got it," replied Zelda.

            "Great," said Link, and took the Roman candle from her, lighting it and handing it back to her. He came to stand behind her, putting his hands on her shoulders and grinning.

            "Yeah, point it away from you, like that," he told her. "Here it goes…"

            Zelda gasped as the candle exploded, sending her rocking backwards slightly into Link as a colorful ball of light went flying into the inky sky, then another, and another, and another…

            "That was a good one," Link noted, squinting at the fading sparks as the Roman candle used up the last of its life. "Good job, Zel."

            "Thanks." Zelda found herself grinning, but felt a slight loss at the feel of Link's warmth behind her leaving.

            "Come on," laughed Link, tossing another Roman candle to her as he dug through the box. "Let's do another one."

            So they passed nearly two hours, blowing up whatever Link pulled out of the "magic box". It was, all in all, probably the most fun night Zelda had ever experienced, better than any Fourth of July or New Year's party, or even the few nights she'd spent in Disney World. Finally, at two in the morning, Link and Zelda wearily made their way back out to the beach, stopping for a moment to ditch the now trash-filled box in a dumpster. As Zelda was about to walk up the steps to the back porch, however, Link pulled her arm and led her to the cliff edge, overlooking the sea.

            "Let's stay out a while longer," said Link tiredly, lying back on the grass and staring up at the sky while yawning loudly.

            "Alright," Zelda replied, flopping back into the long grass as well and gasping. "You can see the stars here!"

            "Yeah.  Can't see them in the city. Couldn't even really see them in the parking lot. But you can see them out here. They're pretty, aren't they?"

            "Yeah," agreed Zelda, staring up into the sky, like black velvet studded with a million tiny diamonds, glittering under the pearly moon. They stared up in silence together for a while, and then Zelda sighed, sitting up.

            "I'm tired," she finally yawned. "I'd like to go to sleep."

            "Look, Zel!" exclaimed Link, ignoring her previous comment while pointing out over the glimmering ocean. "A shooting star. Make a wish."

            Zelda screwed her eyes shut and sucked in her breath, focusing all that she could on a wish.

            _Please_, she thought. _Love.__ I want to be loved. Really loved._ When she opened her eyes, the temporary trail of light was gone.

            "Whad'ja wish for?" Link asked.

            "Nothing important," Zelda told him dismissively.

            "If it's important enough for you to wish for, then I think it is," Link said to her but asked no more, walking down the small incline to the porch. Zelda followed him thoughtfully, through the screen door and down the narrow stairs into the basement, where she stumbled into the bathroom and changed into a baggy tee that fell to nearly her knees, brushed her teeth, and then collapsed upon her bed. When Link came out of the bathroom from changing and getting ready for bed, Zelda was asleep.

- - - -

It was very well and good that the workers finished the remodeling process the next week, and Zelda was allowed her own room. It was a very nice room, it might be added – large, with a queen sized sleigh bed that had been the guest bed, according to Link, and windows through which the sea could be seen, if the tide were right. Zelda was quite grateful for her own room, because even though staying in the basement with Link had been very fun, she'd gotten to _that_ point.

Yes, it was true. Zelda was souped up on an unholy amount of volatile PMS. This was how she found herself to be lying on her duvet, staring angrily at the ceiling with a hot water bottle slid under the white tank she was wearing with nothing else but black panties, pressing against her cramped abdomen. Her body ached all over but was especially concentrated in her throbbing womb and swollen, achy breasts.

So naturally, absolutely NOBODY was allowed in her room. Well, nobody but Valoo, whom she was currently petting. But after Valoo, nobody.

"Zel?" Link cautiously opened the door.

"OUT!" Zelda screeched, picking up a pillow and throwing it roughly at his face.

He quickly closed the door.

Several hours later, Zelda decided she was hungry. Very hungry. She wanted chocolate. Lots of chocolate.

"Zelda?" Now it was Saria cautiously peering into the room. Zelda resisted the urge to throw something at the younger girl for the breach of territory, so instead snapped, "I need chocolate. Lots of it. Um… please."

"O-okay." And she was gone.

Zelda was not disappointed. Some minutes or so later, Saria appeared at the door with a tray containing a bowl of chocolate ice cream, a bar of chocolate, two brownies and a slice of chocolate cake, another chocolate bar, a glass of milk, and two tablets of painkillers. Zelda set upon the food like a starved lioness upon an innocent little gazelle, no make that a dying zebra, no, an ostrich, no, a water buffalo…

Suddenly, Link's face popped up in Zelda's mind as she consumed the mass of chocolate varieties in front of her.

"Ack!" she yelled, smacking herself in the face with a pillow that Valoo happened to be lying on. The cat gave an angry hiss and darted under Zelda's bed, causing the young blond to scowl.

"Fine, be that way," she snapped grumpily at him, returning to her chocolate.

_(A short while later…)_

Link was pacing the hallway, back and forth, back and forth. Zelda had been acting strange lately, locking herself in her room and yelling at anybody who entered, refusing to eat anything but chocolate, only allowing Valoo in for company (unless one had chocolate, then one was admitted in) and lying on her bed with a hot water bottle on her stomach…

"Goddesses!" Link's face paled and he stopped dead in his tracks as he turned to face the door. "Is she… but she can't be… she's not… who is the father?"

Zelda, who was totally unaware of Link's sudden "realization" just feet away, was now openly sobbing over another one of her many smutty romance novels. In it, Dakota, a lost and lonely woman, had been taken in by the kind Reginald, a soldier in the military. Zelda was totally immersed in Dakota's tears, mourning that Reginald might not come back from battle, which turned to tears of joy as Reginald declared his undying love for her and promised her to return, no matter what it took.

"Oh," she wept as the turned the page, "it's all so beautiful!"

"Zelda!" Link burst in and leapt onto the bed, gathering her up in his arms and dramatically clutching her to his chest. "Zelda, don't worry. You're not alone. You can talk to me."

Zelda, who had been shocked out of her sobbing the second that Link burst through the door, was secretly coveting his embrace thanks to the strange ideas her little book had put into her head (_This is just like the book! Is he going to kiss me next?_) but then, she realized that this was Link professing his love to her… _Link_. Wait, had he even professed his love to her? He'd said something about not being alone and not worrying…

"Link, what do you mean?"

"What do _you_ mean?" He drew back slightly with a puzzled expression on his face, blond hair falling in to those irresistible blue eyes and…

"All those things you said… what do you mean?"

"You know what I mean," said Link, shaking his head like a dog and sending his shaggy hair flying.

"You mean you really…" Zelda's teary eyes lit up. He loved her!

"Yes, Zelda," Link said solemnly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'm here for you. Always."

_That is _so_ sweet_, Zelda thought to herself, eyes tearing over once more. "Oh, Link," she sobbed, hugging him tightly. "I'm so happy. I mean, when I came here, I never would have thought…"

"It's okay, Zelda," Link murmured, stroking her hair. "I'll always be by your side."

_Who knew Link had a sweet side_, Zelda thought to herself. _Oh, he's _so_ romantic…_

"Let's go tell my mom, okay Zelda?" Link asked, standing up from the bed.

"Yeah," agreed Zelda, who was still too starry eyed by Link's profession of undying love to her to realize what he was saying…

Link stood from the bed and eyed Zelda once, cheeks turning a little red at her lack of attire.

"I'll give you a minute to make yourself presentable," he mumbled, turning his back and walking towards the door. Zelda glanced down at herself once, blushing also.

"Yes… I'll meet you in the hall." Zelda smiled as Link walked out of the room, and hopped up once the door closed behind him, spinning around with her arms open, face to the ceiling. He loved her! He _loved_ her! It was too good to be true.

Zelda pulled on her poofy red bath robe and tied the belt securely, then stepped out of the room, shyly taking Link's hand and allowing him to lead her downstairs and into the living room, where Impa was immersed in a soap opera.

"Mom?"

"Mm?" Impa turned her glance and took in Link's determined face, Zelda's face splotchy from crying, and their linked hands, and jumped up. "What? Is there something wrong? Zelda, sweetie, are you alright?"

"Mom," began Link haltingly, shooting a glance at Zelda, whose gaze had turned to her feet. He squeezed her hand for reassurance, and took a deep breath.

"Zelda's pregnant."

A dead silence fell on the room. Zelda's head shot up, whereas Impa's jaw dropped.

"Say WHAT?!" Zelda screeched in astonishment.

"Link, what makes you say Zelda's pregnant?" Impa asked curiously, hiding her amusement well.

"The moodiness, the cravings, the aches you can hear her complaining about…"

"Link," Zelda growled, her voice low and dangerous and her previous euphoria disappearing completely, "Listen to me, and listen to me well. I. Am. Not. PREGNANT!" She then slapped him hard across the face and stomped out of the living room and up the stairs, where an audible "SLAM" could be heard.

After a moment of tense silence, Impa burst out laughing, doubling over and clutching her side even as the woman on screen burst into tears.

"What?" Link asked, confused. "I honestly thought she was pregnant." Impa laughed harder, falling back onto the couch and wheezing.

"Oh, Link, Zelda's not pregnant. She's got PMS."

"Oh." Link's face heated up and he fell into a chair, face in hands. "Guess I really screwed up."

"Yeah, guess you did," Impa stated seriously, then was taken by another bout of laughter. "Oh, Link. She's probably not going to speak with you for a week now."

"Bleh," grumbled Link. "But… her reactions!"

"Well, what exactly did you say to her?"

"I said…  I told her not to worry and that I'd stay by her or something…"

"Link, no offense, but you really can be thick sometimes, dear," laughed Impa. "In her hormone induced state, she probably took things very much differently."

"Differently how, though?"

"Can't tell you," Impa winked. "It's a girl thing. Now go upstairs and sit in that room of yours and play computer for a while, and maybe think over how to apologize for your assumptions. And don't forget to tell her that you really do care for her and are sorry that you offended her by implying things that you know she would never do. Oh, and also add how you are just a very concerned friend and would never do anything to hurt her dignity."

"Could you write that down, Mom?"

"Be delicate about choosing your words." Impa sighed, a smile still upon her face. "Be sure that there's no double meaning."

"'Kay."

- - - -

Even with Link's apology and a bouquet of flowers, it was still nearly a week and a half before Zelda would speak with him. Link was humiliated, but not half as much as Zelda, who would not show her face to anybody until her period was over and she was thinking clearly once more.

"I hate him," she complained to Valoo one afternoon as she brushed her hair in front of her vanity. "I mean, I don't really hate him, but I'm still so mad at him. How could he possibly think that I… That I'd be…." Zelda's face heated up, and she dropped her brush, leaning her forehead against the mirror and closing her eyes. "And to think," she mumbled. "I thought he was professing his undying love! Ugh, I'm so stupid…"

Valoo regarded her with his large yellow eyes, and Zelda sighed.

"I suppose you're right. I do need to forgive him. After all, he was only acting out of concern for my well being, but… ugh…"

Zelda sighed and stood, and regarded the bouquet of hand-picked flowers sitting in a makeshift vase (an old Bawls bottle Link had dug up) and pushed her hair out of her eyes, zipping her gray hoodie up to her throat.

"No good is coming of me sulking," she finally stated, determined, patting Valoo on the head. "I suppose I'll go apologize for my behavior, and tell him he's forgiven."

And so Zelda set out and the situation was remedied, and all was well and good once more – or maybe it was just the calm before the storm.


	3. What do you mean, SCHOOL?

**Phase Three, in which- What do you mean, SCHOOL?**

"School?"  It was a soggy Thursday morning and Zelda and Link were sitting across from one another at the circular table, mouths open, staring at Impa with equal expressions of horror.

"That's right," replied Impa. "There are three weeks left of summer vacation, so we should probably go buy you new school things and register Zelda."

"But... but…" Link protested, while Zelda mouthed wordlessly in horror.

Link's lower lip quivered. "I don't want to go!" he finally wailed. "Don't make meeeeeee!"

"It's your junior year," added Impa. "This time next year, you'll be on the home stretch, and senior year is the easiest year of them all."

Quietly, Zelda had set down her fork and stared at the place mat, looking rather green. Wordlessly, she stood from the table and proceeded silently out of the kitchen, to the amazement of Impa and Link.

"Well," said a startled Impa once Zelda had left. "She's never done _that_ before, has she?"

"Nope."

Mother and son engaged in a silent debate for a moment, and finally, Link stood.

"I'll go see," volunteered Link. "I need to call up the crew anyway and arrange a party."

"Right."

Link walked out of the kitchen and down the hall, then up the grand spiraling stairs and down the hall to Zelda's bedroom. He pressed his ear to the door; there was silence within. Lightly, Link knocked, but there was no reply. Silently, he opened the door and stepped in.

Zelda was sitting on her bed, staring out a large window at the ocean, facing away from Link. She was listening to something on her MP3 player, plucking lightly at the strings of the bass guitar that lay on her lap.

"Zel?"

She made no move to turn to face him, nor did she acknowledge that he was even in the room. However, when he walked over to her and silently sat down next to her, she showed no surprise.

"What if everybody hates me?" she finally murmured, her voice piteously quiet. Link could have laughed of relief, but instead kept his smile within him and put an arm around her. "I don't know how to make friends."

"They won't. Everything will be fine. You made friends with me, didn't you?"

Zelda was silent for a moment, then continued on. "But what if I do terribly at school? What if I don't make any friends?"

"You don't need to worry about that. Most of the people at school are pretty nice."

"I haven't been to a public school in years."

Link nodded in understanding. "I see."

"My dad decided that I would be of more use at home. I did home schooling from about seventh grade. I don't really remember what it's like."

"Don't worry, Zelda," said Link. "You'll be fine."

"I hope so."

- - - -

            Later that day, Impa went to register Zelda at the high school, leaving our hero and heroine up to their own devices.

"Might as well kill two birds with one stone," Zelda mumbled from where she was lying upside-down on the couch.

"Whaddaya mean?" Link asked as he absentmindedly channel surfed.

"I mean," said Zelda, rolling over and propping herself up on her elbows, "we might as well take a train into town and go shopping for school stuff."  She paused a moment. "When's that party with your crew?" she inquired, abruptly changing the subject.

"Tomorrow night. But even if we take a train into town, we don't have money."

"_I_ have money." Zelda grinned. "Dad was considerate enough to open up a checking account for me so that I wouldn't be a burden on your family's pocket book."

"But that still leaves the problem of me not having any money."

"Guess I'll have to go to town myself, then," said Zelda with a sigh. "Oh, woe is me. I hope I don't get lost."

Link scowled.  "Fine, you win," he acquiesced.  

_(Four hours, fifty minutes and twenty-eight seconds later)_

"Are you done buying out the mall yet?"

"No. I told you that you didn't have to come with me. You could have gone to Fry's."

"I should have."

"But you didn't, so stop complaining."

Link groaned.

_(An additional thirty eight minutes later)_

"NOW are you done?"

"Oh, look! Charlotte Russe is having a sale!"

_(One hour more)_

"Okay, Link. Ready to go?"

Link gave a pathetic little groan in reply. Zelda smiled and gently took several large shopping bags out of his lacerated hands.

"I never said you had to carry all the bags, silly." Zelda grinned.

"What?" Link asked, his bright blue eyes widening in shock. Zelda shook her head and smiled, and walked out of the mall, followed shortly by an exhausted Link.

"How can you girls shop so much anyway?" he asked, an exhausted sort of curiosity written across his face. Zelda shrugged.

"Maybe it's genetic? I find it rather fun," she noted wryly.

"I don't get it," said Link, shaking his head. "I just don't. How much stuff did you buy?"

"Five pairs of shoes, two new sun dresses, eight pairs of pants, fifteen shirts, new accessories, some lingerie…"

"I remember that," Link mumbled, his face flushing red.

"You could have stayed at the food court," sing-songed Zelda as they turned a corner and reached the train station, sitting down on one of the many wooden benches.

"Well if I'd known..."

Zelda shook her head. "Your fault," she interrupted. "By the way, you did call Impa on my cell phone and tell her where we were, right?"

"Right," said Link with an exhausted sigh, tilting his head back and pulling the green baseball cap perpetually adorning his head over his eyes. "I called Mom. Left a message. Go me. Thanks for buying me the clip-on bowtie, by the way." Link examined the yellow and red polka dot monstrosity and snorted once more. Zelda rolled her eyes and shook her head, sighing.

"Don't worry, Link." Zelda put on an expression of overdramatic sympathy, patting Link's arm with fake concern. "You won't have to come along again. Well, unless you want to, which I doubt."

Link gave a little grunt in reply. Zelda grinned and leaned back as well, stretching her arms above her head.

"Thank you for coming with me today, Link."

"You owe me," he grumbled.

"Name your price," Zelda snickered, turning her head to face him.

"I demand… a cake," he said. "And two new CDs, and a new 120 gig hard drive from Fry's."

"Which CDs?"

"I require The Pixies," Link nodded.

"Of course, your highness." Zelda continued grinning while poking him in the side.

"You're the highness, not me, princess," replied Link with a grimace at Zelda's mountain of shopping bags. "I'm just your poor little servant, forced to carry heavy shopping bags for six hours…"

"A valiant task, to be sure," noted Zelda wryly, standing and collecting the bags as the train arrived. "You're my hero! Come on, lazy," she added, nudging Link with her foot. "Up. The train is here."

"Yeah yeah," he grumbled, standing up. "Do you want me to get those?"

"I got 'em," replied Zelda, not even breaking a sweat as she walked over to the train with bags in hand and through the doors, then sat down, dropping her mountain of items at her feet.

"You're stronger than you look," commented Link, plopping down next to her.

"Back home, I worked out." Zelda smiled, flexing her arm. "Didn't have much else better to do with my time."

"Did you see the workout machinery we have?" Link asked her, turning his head to look at her for a moment.

"Yeah," replied Zelda. "Been too lazy to use it, though."

"Of course," laughed Link, watching the scenery slowly begin to move, then fly by. Zelda studied his profile for a moment, and it struck her how he really _was_ quite good looking. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the window behind her, breathing in deeply. It was a fifteen minute train ride back home, then from there, a ten minute walk to the house. Zelda sighed, enjoying the feeling of relaxing.

"Mm," she sighed. "When I get home, I'm going to take a nice warm bubble bath."

"I hope that's not an invitation for me to join you." Link grinned carnally, earning a horrified gasp from Zelda. "Because I'm going to be outside the window, taking pictures."

"Link!" Zelda exclaimed, flushing red. "I hate you!"

"Love you too, Zellie."

"Don't call me Zellie."

"Why not?"

"Shut up."

"Aww, I'm sorry," whimpered Link, looking apologetic. Zelda couldn't help but grin.

"Forgiven," replied Zelda, closing her eyes and smiling, leaning her head back once more. She felt Link gently toying with a loose strand of her hair, gently tugging on it at first then sticking it into her ear for a moment.

"Hey!" she yelped, jerking away from him. He snickered and patted her on the head.

"Calm down. Just wanted to see your reaction."

After a time the train began to slow and finally pulled to a stop. Zelda reached to pick up her bags, but was surprised to see a sun-browned hand stop her own paler one to gather them up instead.

"It's not fair for the princess to have to carry all her wares," Link joked. "Then the servant gets fat and lazy."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," teased Zelda as she stepped off the train. "We both know you just have a secret shopping bag fetish."

"Say," began Link, waggling a Victoria's Secret bag around in Zelda's face. "What exactly _did_ you get from here, hmm?"

"Look and die," growled Zelda as they stepped onto the main street.

"That secret, huh?"

"Don't want you eyeing my undies, Link." Zelda sighed melodramatically. "How would I ever be able to wear them again knowing that you'd willingly examined them?"

"True," Link agreed, though Zelda noticed the lightest tint of red on his cheeks.

"Pervert," she snapped, snatching the bag away from him. They walked through the town, Link trying to imagine aloud what was in the bag with Zelda verbally abusing him and reached the house before long.

"Mom, we're home," Link yelled. "Saria? Jayda?"

"Guess they went to run errands," commented Zelda, walking up the stairs. "Come on. Just drop the bags in my room."

"Okay, Princess," said Link.

"And another thing," added Zelda. "Please don't call me 'Princess' in public. It might give people the wrong idea."

"Yes, Princess." Link grinned, and Zelda sighed in annoyance.

"Glad to hear you understood me."

"Of course, Princess." Link smiled in a servile manner as Zelda kicked open her bedroom door, dropping her bags roughly on her bed and scaring Valoo, who had been lounging on some pillows. Link followed suit, and then walked to the window, staring at the barely visible slimmer of sparkling sea. He turned to Zelda, grinning.

"Can I stay for your bath?"

"OUT!" Zelda yelled, throwing a shoe box roughly at his head and driving him out of her room. She closed and locked the door once he was out, and sighed, sliding down the wooden frame. _Men_.

- - - -

The next evening, Zelda was nervously checking her appearance in the mirror, brushing at imaginary dirt on her new blue jeans and adjusting her black "Cheshire Cat" tee, courtesy of Hot Topic. She swept her hair up into a ponytail and grabbed her laptop, tucking it securely underneath her arm.

"LAN party, huh?" she asked her reflection. "A bunch of geeks with caffeine and computers. Then why am I so nervous?" She stepped out of her room and walked down the stairs into the kitchen –

– and was met with a chaotic sight.

"Where's the other Cat 5 cable?" Link wailed as he dug through a black bag he had filled with random junk. "Where'd it go?"

"Relax, Link," said Impa coolly. "I'm sure that somebody else has spare cables."

"I usually bring the spares," Link grumbled as Zelda walked over to him, setting her laptop down on the table, which was already occupied by Link's monitor and tower, not to mention a jumble of wires.

"What's a Cad 5?" Zelda asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

"Cat," corrected Link as he continued to dig through his bag. "As in Valoo. It's a connective wire – connects the computer to the hub."

"Hub?"

"Like a command center, sort of," Link feebly explained while continuing to search for the cable. "It manages all the computers, connects them to one another, and also connects them to the internet. It'll make sense once you see. Aha!" Link emerged triumphantly holding what looked like a bird's nest made of wires. "Found it!"

"Great," said Impa. "Now please clean up your mess. Zelda, help me load the computers into the back of the car and I'll drive you two over."

"Right, mom," replied Link distractedly.

"Zelda, do you want to carry the tower or the monitor?" Impa asked. "The monitor's a little heavier..."

"I'll take the monitor, Impa," assured Zelda. "No worries."

The two carried the monitor and tower out to the suburban, followed by Link, tangled up in wires, bearing Zelda's precious laptop.

"You know," said Zelda conversationally as she slid into the SUV, "Link is a perfect name for a computer geek."

"I know," Link replied with a grin. "I blame my dysfunction on my name."

"Don't blame me," said Impa in defense as she started the car. "The guys at the orphanage came up with that name for you."

"Oh?" Zelda asked. "How'd they get that?"

"Gold chain I was wearing," Link enlightened with a shrug. "Missing a link. Came from my mum. Tada."

"I see," said Zelda with a nod. "I'm named after my mom, courtesy of my father."

"I never knew that."

"That's because I never told you."

"I don't know where I got my name," Impa offered.

"Here we go," Link muttered under his breath.

"What do you mean?" Zelda wondered aloud.

"My parents were breeding partners in some wacked-out cult. The cult leader assigned me my name. Finally, it was too much for my dear old mum, who took me and ran away."

"That's interesting," said Zelda, brows furrowed.

"And lucky," Impa added. "Some fundamentalists came in and busted down the cult HQ not long afterwards. Killed 'em all. I'm the sole survivor" Impa grinned, puffing her chest out with fake pride.

"What were they called?" Zelda asked curiously.

"Sheikah," replied Impa, the word rolling off her tongue like water. "Cult legend went that we were the descendants of an ancient tribe, but I think it was all bull."

"Huh."

They pulled into the driveway of a luxurious two story house and Impa stopped the car.

"Here we are," she announced, and Link hopped nimbly out of the car.

"I'll go get some guys to help with the merry task of lugging the box inside," he said. Zelda tucked her laptop below her arm and followed Link up to the house, feeling a little nervous. Link didn't even bother to knock or ring the doorbell, but instead kicked the door open and poked his head in.

"Guys, a little help?" he yelled in. Zelda hopped back as the door swung open and a young man came trotting out. He wasn't wholly unattractive, but he wasn't Zelda's type, either.  His hair was chin length and purple, and he wore a baggy black "GAMER USA" tee. He grinned, slapping Link on the back.

"How 'ya been, man?" he asked.

"Pretty good, Kafei. Allow me to introduce you to Zelda," he said, gesturing to the young blond in the shadows.

"Zelda? I've heard about you," replied Kafei with a grin, turning his eyes onto her. "Anju's lookin' forward to meeting you, I might add. But allow me to formally introduce myself." He extended his hand and said, "Kafei Mayor."

"Zelda Harkinian." Zelda tried her best not to seem nervous as she shook his hand.

"Very nice to meet you. Go on inside and find Anju, she'll get you taken care of. She should be…well…you'll find her. So, Link, let's get your things."

"Right," replied Link, and walked back out to the driveway with Kafei in close company, leaving Zelda alone on the doorstep. With a deep breath, she opened the door and stepped into the house.

The foyer was huge and empty, but the sound of yelling could be heard further into the house. Zelda followed the noise and found a massive number of computers and their respective owners sitting in the midst of a jumble of wires in the living room. The computers were the nicest computers Zelda had ever seen – the cases were black and shiny, some with plastic panels inside so that once could see the wires inside, illuminated by neon lights stored within. It seemed, too, that all of the monitors were flat screens, and Zelda felt slightly ashamed of her tiny little laptop in comparison to these dominating computers. She looked helplessly around, but saw no young woman in the room. A tap came on her shoulder, accompanied with a thankfully feminine, "Are you Zelda?"

"Yes," Zelda replied gratefully, relief flooding through her. "Yes, I am."

"I'm Anju." The attractive young redhead smiled. "I'm Kafei's girlfriend. Did you already meet him?"

"Yeah," replied Zelda.

Anju smiled again. "Great." Her eyes fell upon Zelda's laptop, and her eyes widened in anticipation. "Laptop?"

"Yeah," replied Zelda slightly sheepishly.

"Excellent. Go ahead and claim a spot. Oh, wait though…" Anju walked over to the sofa and climbed onto the back, and Zelda felt a sudden dread of what she was going to do.

"HEY!" Anju cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled, and the room grew slightly quieter. All eyes had turned to her, and several young men were seen removing their headphones. "THIS IS ZELDA," Anju continued, pointing at Zelda. "LINK'S FRIEND. SHE'S COOL, OKAY?"

There was a murmur and nod of assent, and Zelda tried not to flush as she felt many eyes on her.

"GREAT. OKAY, GO BACK TO YOUR TOURNEY." The guys all nodded and pulled their headphones on, and the murmur slowly came back.

"I can't believe you just did that," said Zelda, feeling ashamed.

Anju shrugged. "Ah, they're all harmless. So anyway, go set your laptop down and we'll get you all hooked up, and then I'll introduce you to everybody."

"Okay…" Zelda walked over to a slightly-empty section of the floor and carefully set down her laptop on an abandoned cardboard box, flipping the screen open.

"All we need now is some Cat 5," stated Anju calmly. "I don't suppose you have any?"

"Link's got some," Zelda said.

"Speak of the devil," Anju commented wryly, and looked to the entryway, where Link and Kafei were walking in rather calmly laden with monitor, tower, and Link's bag of computer junk.

"Call me when you're done," Zelda heard Impa yell, and then the slam of the front door. Link proceeded over to where Zelda was and set his monitor down, Kafei plopping the box down next to it.

Anju nodded. "Great. I'll leave you two to get everything hooked up. I'm going to introduce Zelda to everybody."

"Poor Zelda," Link commented once the young blond had been dragged away and was being introduced to the local nerd population. "Anju's really got it in for her."

"That's my woman," laughed Kafei as he plugged Link's monitor into his computer. "Speaking of which, it seems like there's… things between you and Zelda."

"There's nothing," replied Link, though even through his shaggy hair and green baseball cap, Kafei could see the red tips of his ears.

"And I'm the queen of England," laughed Kafei. "But no worries, man, I won't tell her."

"Good," snapped Link, "because there's nothing to tell. Get me a bawls, will you?"

            "Sure thing, highness," grumbled Kafei under his breath, though even through his faked foul temper, he was smiling.


	4. The magic of bawls!

**Scene IV, in which the magic of Bawls is discovered by our lovely heroine **

Zelda was feeling great. No. She was feeling better than great. Greater than better than great. She was splendiforously fantasmic.

"These are really good, Link," Zelda giggled over the sound of the blasting techno music as she took another sip of her Bawls.

"Um, Zel, how many of those have you had?" Link asked.

"Just two," Zelda smiled, leaning tipsily against him. "Why?"

"No reason," said Link. "How often do you drink cokes?"

"Not often. Why?"

A grin twisted itself across Link's lips, which had been previously pressed together as he concentrated on teaching Zelda the ropes of Halo. "Because it seems you've got no caffeine tolerance," Link stated wryly.

"DIE!" Zelda yelled at her computer screen, hammering hard on the keypad and assaulting the alien there with her gun. "What do you mean, Link? I've got caffeine tolerance. Heeee."

"No you don't," Link laughed. "You can't have any more bawls, okay?"

"Why?"

"The aliens have poisoned them," whispered Link.

"Oh. Okay." Just then, Sheep, one of Link's closer friends, sauntered over and plopped down between Zelda and Link.

"Hey Sheep," greeted Link, smiling at the young man. He'd earned his odd name because he looked like a Sheepdog with his shaggy brown hair that hung into his eyes, and so his nickname had been shortened to Sheep, just for simplicity's sake.

"Hey Link." Sheep shook his eyes out of his face and grinned down at the two friends. "Hey Zel."

"Hi Shep," replied Zelda with a lopsided grin. "I mean Seep. Er, Sheep."

"No caffeine tolerance," Link whispered to Sheep. "And she's already had two."

"Ah."

"So, what are you doing over here? I thought you were kicking butt in some Halo warthog matches."

"I was," sighed Sheep, "but my CPU overheated and my computer shutdown. I'm giving it a while to cool before I go at it again. Nice laptop, Zel."

"Thanks Sheepy."

"What time is it?" Link asked.

Sheep checked his watch. "After midnight," he clarified. "Why?"

"I think I might need to get her home," Link sighed, patting Zelda on the head.

Zelda looked up at him, curiosity evident in her big blue-violet eyes. "Why?"

"You're about to implode."

"Oh."

"Heh," said Sheep, examining Zelda. "She's wrecked. She'll be completely dead tomorrow."

"Probably," Link agreed.  "Hey, Sheep, could you do me a favor?" Link's cheeks flushed lightly red as Zelda giggled stupidly, "wow, you're hot Link…"

"Depends on the favor." Sheep shrugged casually, one hand tucked into his pocket, the other firmly grasping a blue bottle of bawls, smiling at Zelda's idiotic antics as she draped herself all over his friend..

"Keep Khail away from Zelda," said Link, trying to push Zelda off of him as she leeched onto his chest. Sheep grinned wryly.

"Worried?" Sheep asked, smiling.

"Not sure what I am," muttered Link, his words muffled by Zelda's hand sliding down his face. "But you know Khail…"

"I know Khail." Sheep nodded.

"Exactly," pointed out Link. "So…. Yeah. Zelda, will you get off me?"

Zelda giggled in reply. Link sighed in exasperation and looked dully at Sheep, who grinned.

"No problem, friend," said Sheep. "I'll take care of Khail. Halo was getting dull anyway. I wonder where Kafei and Anju got off to…?"

"Ugh, I don't want to know."  Link shuddered. "It's so weird."

"Yeah." Sheep nodded. "It's just freaky."

Just then, Zelda finally began to come down off of her caffeine rush and groaned into Link's neck.

"I don't feel so good."

"Haha," Sheep began to laugh then stopped as he was cut off by a glare from Link.

"Probably better to get her home," Link stated, patting her gently on the head.

"Yeah," agreed Sheep. "And if you like, I'll scare Khail off 'er."

"Don't do anything that could insult her," Link cautioned, pulling Zelda off of him, then retrieving her phone and quickly dialing Impa. "Yeah, Mom? Yeah. Yeah. Okay, that would be great. Thanks. Bye." Link began to deftly unhook the wires from his computer, wrapping the cords up neatly before stowing them in his bag.

"We're leaving in a minute, Zelda," Link said, removing the Cat 5 from her computer and tracing it to the hub, where he removed it from its respective port. He bound the cord up as well and stowed it in his bag, then turned to Zelda, who was clutching her head with her hands.

"I have a headache," Zelda pathetically whimpered, closing up her laptop. She leaned back, and would have fallen backwards had Sheep not been sitting right behind her, acting as a human pillow.

"Careful," he warned with feigned disinterest.

"Mmph," replied Zelda into her palms.

"Watch her for a minute," commanded Link, hoisting his monitor up and carrying it into the front hall. He returned shortly, grabbed his tower and his bag, and carried them into the foyer as well. Then he went back in and smiled at Sheep, who was helping Zelda to her feet.

"Thanks, Sheep." Link smiled gratefully, grabbing Zelda's laptop and winding an arm around her waist. "Come on, Zelda. Mom's gonna be here any minute."

"Okay," mumbled Zelda.

"Sheep, how about you come over tomorrow?" Link asked. "We can hang out."

"Sounds cool," Sheep responded, threading his way through the mess of wires back to his own computer. "I'll just drop by. See you then."

"Cool." Link helped Zelda to the front hall, where she took a seat in the middle of the floor.

"Mom's here," Link told her, helping her off the ground. Zelda nodded and stood, dusting herself off, and grabbed her laptop and Link's bag. She carried both the laptop and the bag out to the car, and Link lugged his tower out, then returned, grabbed his monitor, and left. The ride back to the house was a quiet one, and as soon as they returned, Zelda made a beeline for her bed, collapsing upon it without even undressing.

"Good night, Zelda," Link whispered quietly as he peered into her room and turned off her light. "Sleep well."

----

            The next morning, Zelda woke up with a splitting headache. She rolled over in bed and promptly fell out, then crawled along the floor to her windows, where she drew the blinds. Head aching, Zelda crawled back to her bed and clambered up, curling up atop the sheets and ramming a pillow over her head. However, she did not stay that way for long. Her jeans began to pull at her legs, and her Cheshire cat top was not made for the abuse of sleeping. Grumpily, Zelda yanked the offending garments off, lying on her bed in only her lacy black bra and matching panties, trying to block out the throbbing in her head.

            "Ugh," she groaned. The air in her room was hot and still, and Zelda felt herself break out in a sweat. Wearily, she stood and stumbled to the switch plate, where she cranked up her ceiling fan. She stumbled back to her bed and collapsed, blowing a sticky strand of hair out of her eyes.

            "Goddesses," Zelda grumbled. "This is like being hung over." Somebody rapped lightly on her door, and Zelda called weakly, "Come in." As the door creaked open, she pulled her covers over her hardly-covered lacy black backside, still lying facedown on the bed.

            "Hey, Zel," came Link's soft voice. "We just came in to check on you." Zelda opened one eye, and saw Link and Sheep standing in the doorway.

            "Mmph," she said, and yanked her pillow over her head. "If you've come to gawk, feel free to leave."

            "We come bearing water and painkiller," Sheep stated. Zelda poked her head out from under the pillow and propped herself up on her elbows a little, not noticing Sheep and Link's eyes both dart straight to her chest region.

            "That's really great of you guys," Zelda thanked, shaking her head lightly and causing a few wavy golden strands to obscure their view. "If you could just put them on this table," she said, reaching out with her hand and smacking the bed stand roughly before her other arm slipped out from under her and she planted her face into a pillow. She heard Sheep give a bark of a laugh, and Link walked over to the side of her bed, placing two painkiller tablets and a glass of water on the shiny wooden surface.

            "Feel better, okay?" Link asked her, placing his hand on the small of her bared back.

            . "Uh huh," Zelda mumbled, reaching for the tablets and water and downing them roughly, earning appreciative glances at her breasts in the process.

            "We'll be in the basement if you need us later," Link said, leaving, Sheep just behind him. Zelda collapsed back into the soft white sheets and rolled over, staring at the ceiling and slipping into sleep.

            Half an hour later, Zelda woke up feeling perfectly dandy and fine.

            "Wow," she commented to herself. "Those painkillers Link gave me were pretty strong." She stood from her bed, disentangling herself from the sheets, and grabbed the clothes she'd thrown on the floor, tossing them into the clothes hamper in her closet. She reached in and pulled out a baggy vintage tee and some simple cotton exercise pants, donned the clothing, and tied her sticky hair out of her face. Remembering that Link had said something about being in the basement, she went ahead and proceeded downwards, wondering what he would be doing down there.

            "Hey, Link," Zelda called as she hopped down the narrow stairs two at a time, "what'd you give me? That stuff was really strong and – oh, hi, Sheep. I didn't know you were here."

            "Hey." Sheep nodded once from his position in front of the TV, controller in hand.

            "Whatcha playin'?" Zelda inquired.

            "Time Splitters 2," answered Sheep, and Link grimaced.

            "I'm getting whipped."

            Zelda grinned, pleased. "You deserve it."

            "What'd I do?" Link yelped. "Ouch, gah. Noooo!"

            Sheep cackled. "I win again."

            "Let me see," said Zelda, stepping within view of the screen and squinting. Her jaw dropped open and she swatted at Sheep. "I thought you said you were playing Time Splitters 2!"

            "We are," Link groaned. "They just happen to have an anaconda sub game."

            "Let me play," Zelda commanded, plopping roughly down next to Link and snatching up a controller. "I'll show you both how it's done."

            And sure enough, ten minutes later had both young men groaning and Zelda cackling evilly.

            "How'd you get so good at anaconda?" Link whined, head buried in his knees.

            "It's on my cell phone. I'd play it while I waited for one my dad's chauffeur to come pick me up from places where I went. My dad usually forgot to notify him at first, though, so I had a lot of time to kill."

            "I see," said Link carefully.

            "Your dad had a chauffeur?" Sheep asked.

            "My dad is a CEO," said Zelda. "He didn't have enough time for me. Thought I was a nuisance, so he sent me here. It's probably the best thing he ever did for me," she added with a grin, showing no remorse talking about her pitiful excuse for a father.

            "Wow," Sheep breathed. "That really sucks. Sorry, Zel."

            "No worries," Zelda replied, standing and stretching. "Anyway, I'm going to get some lunch. You two want anything?"

            The two looked at each other for a moment then yelled simultaneously, "Hot pockets!"

            "…..oh….kay…." stumbled Zelda. "I'll bring some down for you two. How many?"

            "Four," nodded Link.

            Zelda sighed and shook her head as she made her way up the stairs. "Men are such pigs."

----

            An hour and a half later found Zelda idly wandering the neighborhood in an escape from Sheep and Link's senseless banter.  She figured that since she'd never met the neighbors before anyway, she might as well acquaint herself with everybody. After all, it couldn't hurt, right?

            Zelda sighed as she walked along the street. There was so much space between the houses here! She'd been walking for near fifteen minutes and had only passed maybe five houses or so. She looked to her right and spotted Kafei's house, where she'd been last night. With a sigh, she continued past it. Link's friends were nice, sure, but she didn't feel entirely comfortable with them yet. With a sigh, Zelda continued along the street, ignoring the heat radiating up from the concrete. She walked for several more minutes, and that was when she heard it.

            Zelda stopped and turned her head in the direction of the guitar notes, notes in quick succession, one after another so fast that Zelda was astounded. She followed the sound of the distant guitar notes and found herself at the next house, a sprawling, newer-looking white limestone two-story with a beautiful beach view.  Zelda stepped behind a tree and looked: there was a young man playing the guitar in the open garage, his back turned to her, totally immersed in the music. There was something about the music, the quick succession of notes, the way he played, that spoke to Zelda, coiled itself within her and made her heart hammer. Who _was_ he? As he stopped playing, Zelda began to step forward then stopped, biting her lip in a moment of indecision. Should she?

            Zelda set her nerves and walked forward, calling out to him. "Hello?"

            He turned around, and Zelda bit down a gasp. He was utterly gorgeous, with a mop of shaggy hair so black that it was almost blue and bright green eyes, and a tanned face that spoke of days spent in the sun.

            "Sorry to intrude," stuttered Zelda, "but I heard you playing and…"

            He swept his hair out of his bright green eyes, sending butterflies jolting through Zelda. "Nah, it's cool." He grinned. "You like it? I'm still workin' the kinks out."

            "You're amazing," Zelda breathed. "I've never heard anybody play guitar like that. The riff, the note, the effortless shifting and string transitions…."

            "You play yourself?" he asked, interested.

            "I play bass," Zelda stated, blushing a little. "I'm still not too good at it…"

            "Well," he laughed, beckoning to Zelda, "let's see what you can do. Oh, I didn't catch your name…"

            "Zelda," she answered with a blush. "But a lot of people shorten it to Zel."

            "Zel," he tested, smiling at her. "It's got a nice ring. Anyway, I've got a bass inside if you wanna show me your stuff."

            Zelda's face lit up. "Sure."

            "Cool." The young man nodded then grinned. "Name's Mikau," he added, sweeping some hair out of his face.

            "It's nice to meet you, Mikau," Zelda said with a smile that she hoped wasn't ditzy. He grinned and turned, walking through the garage into the house.

            "Let me get you set up with that guitar," Mikau said in his deep voice like the rolling ocean wave, disappearing into the house for a moment. Zelda looked around the garage for the moment – nothing special, as was expected, and then jerked her head up as Mikau entered once more, a beautiful white bass in hand.

            "Wow," breathed Zelda, coming forward to take it. "You have a Fender-strat?"

            "It was my cousin's," Mikau said with a sad sort of smile. "It's his fault I'm the guitar junkie I am. He died in a motorcycle crash, though. Left the bass to me."

            "Wow," murmured Zelda. "I'm really, really sorry."

            Mikau shook his head, a smile making itself present on his face, chasing the sadness out of his eyes. "Don't be," he said. "Everything happens for a reason. Plus, it was a long time ago. Anyway, you going to show me what you can do or what?"

            "Yeah." Zelda smiled a little nervously, taking the cable he handed to her and plugging it into the guitar. "Name a band you like."

            "Linkin Park," Mikau stated, flicking his head so his adorable black rock star mop went flying. "Or Aerosmith."

            "I'll go with Linkin Park." Zelda grinned, and carefully plucked a few notes, before she set to work destroying Mikau's eardrums with a powerful, angry bass riff. She struck a last note violently before letting it fade and looked up at Mikau.

            "_Very_ cool," he praised. "Most excellent. Zel, you and I should start a band."

            "We should." Zelda beamed – she'd wanted to be in a band for ever.

            "And I've got just the dude to drum for us, too. Zel, do you want to go get your bass and amp and bring 'em over and I'll call up Darmani and he'll bring by his set and we can get this started?"

            "Sure," Zelda replied, a great grin spreading over her face. "I'll be back in a little while."

            "Right. Oh, hey," Mikau added, "which house you live in? Didn't see any ones for sale…"

            "Oh, um," Zelda stammered, "I'm living with the Tudors – do you know who they are?"

            "Yeah." Mikau grinned. "Link and I played together all the time when we were little. You an exchange student?"

            "Yeah." Zelda nodded furiously. "Yeah, something like that."

            Mikau bought it. "Cool," he said. "Where from?"

            "Hollywood area," Zelda stated. "I'll tell you more later. Let me go get my bass."

            "Gotcha." Mikau turned his back on Zelda and pulled a cell phone out of the pocket of his baggy cargo shorts, flipping it open and pressing a button, holding it to his ear. He paused for a minute, and as Zelda walked away, she heard him say, "Yo, Darmani? Yeah… yeah… need you to come over. Bring the drums…. no, found a bassist… yeah… she's awesome…. Yeah…."

            Zelda didn't bother to listen after that, and instead proceeded down the street, thinking the entire fifteen minute walk back home about a certain black-haired boy with sea green eyes.

            After forever and no time at all, Zelda arrived back at the house, and trooped up the back porch and into the kitchen.

            "Hey, Impa?" Zelda asked, standing behind the gray-haired woman working avidly at the counter. "Can you drive me over to Mikau's in a few minutes?"

            "Mikau? That nice boy down the street? Of course, Zelda."

            Zelda grinned. "Great. Let me go get my guitar."

            "Are you two forming a band?" Impa asked with a smile as she "decapitated" a carrot.

            "Yeah," laughed Zelda.

            "Well, that's quite nice, dear. You go get whatever you need and I'll tell Link that I've taken you over to a friend's house."

            "Cool," nodded Zelda. "Thanks, Impa."

            "No problem, dear."

----

            Ten minutes later saw Zelda leaning against her amp, guitar in lap as she stared across the garage as boredom began to set in as they waited for Darmani to arrive.

            "So he was cool with it," Mikau was saying, "and we've got ourselves a band. Any name ideas?"

            "Depends," Zelda said, turning her eyes on him. "What genre of music will we be playing?"

            "I'm thinking maybe alternative rock or something," Mikau said. "Like the Darkness, maybe."

            "Hm," Zelda said. "We could be Fallen."

            "Fallen? Cool." Mikau wrote it down and nodded. "Keep going. We'll need a bunch of ideas, since Darmani can be kind of…. Well, you know."

            Zelda nodded in understanding. "Gotcha." She bit her lip, thinking for a minute. "Black Eyes. Apostrophe. The Shingles. Dirt. Little Blue. Wasteland. " She turned her eyes on Mikau, who was scribbling furiously. "Do you need more?"

            "Might be a good idea," he stated as he finished scratching down what Zelda had said.

            "Right then. Steam Temper. The Tangerines. Bitter Chocolate. Anubian. Dry Rot. Moon fade. Low tide, high tide, tidal wave. Do you need many more?"

            "Give me a second." Mikau's tongue was wedged between his teeth as his pen flew across the yellow notepad, making a dry scratching sound. He paused and looked up at Zelda. "How do you come up with these?"

            Zelda shrugged in reply.

            "Give me a few more," Mikau demanded. "Really cool ones, like Runo or something."

            "Lethifold?" Zelda asked. "It's a Greek beast."

            "More." Mikau was nodding, even as he scribbled it down.

            "Volvagia." Zelda's eyes glazed over as she began to speak. "Morpha. Bongo Bongo. Twinrova."

            "Yo, Zel?" Mikau waved his pencil in front of her glazed eyes, snapping her out of whatever it was she had slipped into. "You in there?"

            "Yeah," said Zelda, shaking her head and squinting. "Sorry. Heat's getting to me. Anyway, will those do?"

            "Those are awesome." Mikau nodded his approval, blue-black hair flying everywhere. "I especially liked that last one. Twinrova."

            "Cool." Zelda grinned then turned her eyes to the street. "Does it take a terribly long time to get from Darmani's to here?"

            "Not too long," Mikau said with a shrug. "He just had to unload his drum set, pack it up, put it in the back of his truck, drive over here. He should be arriving any minute."

            Zelda made herself comfortable against her amp and stared out at the street, waiting for Mikau's friend, Darmani, to arrive.


	5. The Sound and the Fury

**Tale 5: The Sound and the Fury**

            Zelda squinted, trying to see through the red pickup truck with the drums in their cases strapped down in the back with bungee cables. Carefully, she set down her bass on the concrete floor of the garage and stood, stretching. Mikau was already halfway down the driveway and then behind the cabin of the truck, out of Zelda's range of vision. She heard his voice distinctively, though, and then a low, deep rumble, like thunder, or boulders sliding down a mountain.

            A big, beefy young man came around the edge of the truck, his skin such a dark tan that Zelda wondered if he had any ancestors from Africa. There were several red tattoos on his upper arms, and he had a goatee, bleached silver like his hair and eyebrows. However, the white hair didn't give him a preppy surfer look – instead, it made him look fierce and threatening. He had a scowling face that would have been intimidating had it not been formed into a smile as he pulled his friend into a one-armed bear hug.

            "Hey brotha'," Darmani boomed. "Glad to hear you finally found a decent bassist. Where's the girl?"

            "Garage," came Mikau's slightly strangled voice. "I'll start getting the drums out."

            "You do that, brotha'." Zelda watched as Darmani proceeded up the driveway, swinging his muscular arms. Around his neck glinted a ball-and-chain necklace, adding to the threatening and powerful presence he emitted. When he stopped in front of Zelda, his face split into a weathered grin and he held out a calloused hand.

            "Darmani," he said.

            "Zelda." Zelda grinned at him as he pumped her hand up and down, his grip firm but not painfully so.

            "Nice to meet you, Zelda."

            "Call me Zel."

            "Got it, Zel."

            "Want me to help with the drums?" she asked, peering around Darmani.

            "It's all good," he said. "Mikau and I have it under control. Speaking of which, I'd better go help him."

            "Alright," Zelda called as he turned and walked away. She sat down against her amp, smiling to herself. Despite his threatening appearance, Darmani seemed like a really nice guy. The band would probably be a blast.

            "Hey, Mikau," Darmani called, "I hope you don't mind that I called my girl and invited her over."

            "Malon? Nah, it's cool. Heavy!" Mikau whimpered, and Zelda couldn't help but snicker into her fist as the skinnier man sagged under a black-cased drum piece.

            "Drop it and you die," Darmani growled. "So, speaking of girls. How's Lulu?"

            "She's good, man." Zelda felt a small sinking within her – Mikau had a girlfriend? And then she realized that it was for the best because it would be disastrous to date a band member. What happens after breakup? The band goes down the drain? Or worse – what happens when someone gets dumped?

            _Yes,_ Zelda decided, despite the small pang in her breast. _No dating band members_.

            Once the two young men had finished moving and assembling the drums, they sat down, Darmani on his stool and Mikau leaning against the other side of Zelda's amp. He pulled the small yellow pad of paper out from one of his many pockets and cleared his throat, looking at Darmani.

            "So," he began, "here are the band names Zelda came up with."

            "You didn't help?" Darmani raised an eyebrow.

            Mikau grinned sheepishly. "You know me, Darm. I'm not creative like that."

            "Fair enough," the larger man said. "So, continue."

            "Actually," Mikau cleared his throat, "it would be a waste of my precious breath…" here, Darmani snorted and Zelda giggled lightly. Mikau glared and continued, "It would be a waste of breath to read it all off, so just look for yourself and say which ones you like." Mikau slid the pad across the floor to rest at Darmani's feet, and he stooped to pick it up, white brows furrowing as he read.

            "They're all good, but they're all regular," Darmani said at last. "Though I do like the final few. Volvagia and Twinrova are my favorites."

            "Yeah," replied Mikau with a nod. "I like them both. What about you, Zelda?"

            "Twinrova makes it sound like it's a two-person-band," Zelda chimed. "Volvagia is better, in my opinion, especially for a band. You can hear the molten fury or whatever if we're going to be an angst-like band, and if not, Volvagia is still good because it will stick in people's heads, like Velvet Revolver or Red Hot Chili Peppers."

            "Zelda," Mikau breathed, "you are my hero."

            "You make a good point," agreed Darmani. "In fact, several good points. So we have unanimously decided that the band's name is Volvagia?"

            "Here here!" yelled Mikau, raising a hand in the air. Zelda grinned, exhaling.

            "So then," said Darmani, twirling his drumsticks in his hands, "Let's get to work. Is there a song we all know how to play?"

            "'By the Way', by Red Hot Chili Peppers?" Zelda offered.

            Darmani nodded. "I can do that." He turned and faced the lead guitarist. "Mikau?"

            "No problems here," he said. "So I'll play lead and sing lead, then?"

            "Sounds good," Zelda said. "I can sing backup."

            "Let's begin." Darmani grinned and tapped the drums a few times to set the tempo, and Volvagia began to play together for the first time ever.

----

            About half an hour later as Zelda, Mikau, and Darmani were trying to sort out different riffs for Mikau's "happy, hyper song", a shiny black H1 pulled up in front of Mikau's house, and an attractive redhead stepped out, grinning as she deposited her sunglasses in the V of her shirt neck.

            "Hey, guys," she greeted, walking into the shade of the garage. "How's it coming?"

            "Hey, Malon. It's going good." Mikau nodded, and turned back to Zelda. "Maybe if you play fret seventeen and then fret fifteen on the D string…"

            "Do you guys just want me to keep up with the pounding through the whole thing?" Darmani asked, beating out a quick riff on his set and smiling at his girlfriend as she sat down to watch.

            "Yeah, Darm, what you've got is working great. Here, Zelda, you and me should try this part…"

            "Right," said Zelda, sliding her hand up the neck of her bass and plucking out a few notes. "You go ahead and count off."

            "And one, two, three…" Mikau began to play and Zelda hopped right in, following along and wincing.

            "No," she said. "It's still dissonant. Maybe if I go down a string…."

----

            Another hour and a half later, they had the song worked out and were polishing it to perfection, with Malon cheering them on.

            "That was so great you guys," Malon squealed as the last pounded riff faded into nothing. She hopped up from the lawn chair she'd pulled out and had been sitting on, and ran over to Darmani, wrapping her arms around his neck and planting a solid kiss on his cheek. "You're going to be famous one day, I just know it."

            "Calm down, Malon," laughed Mikau. "We've only learned one song so far. For all you know, if we even get far enough to fame, we could just be one hit wonders."

            "Ugh." Zelda grimaced, wrinkling her nose in distaste. "I certainly hope not."

            "You won't," Malon said with a smile, putting one hand on her hip. "You guys are the bomb."

            "If you say so," Mikau sighed. He checked his watch and removed his guitar, setting it gently down atop his amp. "It's getting close to dinner, guys. Let's call it quits for today. Same time tomorrow?"

            Zelda nodded in assent. "Sure." She unplugged and removed her bass and sat down, placing it in her lap and carefully removing the strap. Zelda stood, carefully stowing her guitar away in its gig bag and unplugging her amp.

            "Zelda?" Malon asked, watching her. "If you'd like, I can drive you home."

            "Really?" Zelda's eyes lit up and she laughed in relieved gratitude. "Thanks."

            Malon grinned "No problem. Do you want me to get anything for you?"

            "Could you get my guitar? I'll put the amp in the trunk, if you don't mind."

            "Not at all." Malon came forward and carefully took the bass, treating it as though it were made of glass. Zelda heaved the amp up and carried it to the H1, where Malon unlocked the trunk and Zelda pushed it in.

            "Thanks." Zelda blew a strand of hair out of her eyes and took the guitar from Malon, allowing the redhead to shut the trunk.

            "No problem," Malon replied lightly as she made her way to the driver's seat.

            "I'll meet you back at your place, Darm," she called to the big man as he and his friend disassembled and packed up the drums. "Bye, Mikau."

            "By Darmani, bye Mikau," Zelda called as well as she slid into the passenger seat of the hummer. Malon pushed the keys into the ignition and turned, and suddenly the hummer was filled with rock music; however, it was not so loud that Zelda's eardrums exploded.

            "So," began Malon, immediately breaking the silence in the hummer as she prepared to back up. "Which way do you live?"

            "I live... down the street to the left. Do you know where Link lives?"

            "Link?" Malon asked. "Yeah, I know him. Cool guy."

            "I'm staying with his family," Zelda replied. "It's a long story, really," she continued. "My dad decided he was sick of having me around so he shipped me off to live with Haft and Impa."

            "Sucks your dad's such a dick," Malon commented as she backed out of the driveway and put the hummer in drive.

            "I'm used to it," Zelda said with a shrug, turning to look out the window. "How did you meet Darmani?"

            "Mikau was in my accelerated chem class last year," Malon replied breezily. "He and I were instant friends, but even then, he was still going out with Lulu, so I couldn't make a move on him. I hung out with him a lot, though, and he introduced me to Darmani."

            "That's really cool."

            "Yeah." There was silence in the car, which Malon broke after a minute. "So, you met Mikau this morning…?"

            "Yep," laughed Zelda. "Taking a walk. I heard him practicing and was instantly drawn towards the sound."

            Malon grinned. "Nice."

            "Thanks." Zelda swept a lock of blond hair out of her eyes as Malon pulled into the long gravel driveway leading up the incline to Link's old Victorian home.  She put the Hummer in park and grinned over at Zelda.

            "Want me to get the amp this time? Make us even?" There was a challenge in her eyes, challenge laced with humor.

            "I don't know that you can handle it," sighed Zelda, stretching and shaking her head melodramatically. "But if you're sure…"

            "I think I can handle it." Malon grinned, and it struck Zelda that, despite how cliché it was, this would be the start of a beautiful friendship.

----

            "Where were you all day?" Link burst into Zelda's room, causing the young woman to screech and topple off her bed, disturbing Valoo who looked angrily affronted.

            "Band practice," replied Zelda from the floor, grumpily pulling herself to her feet. "You know, there's such a thing as _knocking_. What if I had been indecent?"

            "Band practice with who?" Link asked, disregarding Zelda's latter comments.

            "Nobody special." Zelda stretched out on her bed luxuriously, patting Valoo's furry head and being rewarded with a purr in response.

            "Zelda…" Link whined, and there was a pleading in his eyes, along with a look she'd never seen before in their blue depths.

            "Link…" Zelda whined in return, trying to ignore his eyes. "Nobody special. Now isn't Sheep waiting for you in the basement?"

            "Sheep left," replied Link. "About two hours after you did. Then I noticed you were gone. I was worried."

            "So you only noticed I was gone after he left?" Zelda fumed. "Wrong thing to say, Hero."

            "Well it's true," Link began to look angry. "Forgive me for wanting to spend some time with my friends. You've had me to yourself all summer, _Princess_," he spat. "Who were you with?"

            Zelda exploded.

            "It's none of your damn business, you ass! Nobody ever asked you to be my keeper, and besides, you could have asked Impa or even bothered to say goodbye or something, but you were too busy with your damn friends and you get mad at me for going out and living a little myself?! Link, I have not had friends since I was twelve, so you shut your damn trap about me going over to a friend's house without you approving of it before hand…!" Zelda paused for a breath, and Link opened his mouth as though to argue. Zelda, however, cut him off. "And you can take that 'worry' bull and shove it because Impa knew where I was and I can sure as hell take care of myself anyway. You've been a jerk before, Link, but this just beats all. Get out of my room."

            "Zelda…"

            "Get out!" Zelda spat, louder this time.

            "But Zel…"

            "OUT!" Zelda shrieked, and unceremoniously shoved Link in the back out the door and slammed it shut harshly, locking it with a furious click. Zelda leaned back against the door, angrily panting, and then slowly slid down it to bury her head in her hands to cry.

            "Damn him," she whispered in between choked sobs. "Damn him…"

----

            "I'm leaving," Zelda snapped the next day. "Just so you don't flip out again, Hero."

            "Not like I care," Link replied tersely, not bothering to look up from the TV (though his anger was evident in the way his knuckles turned white on the remote and he began hammering through the channels). "Like you said, it's none of my damn business. Go on, Princess. Go live your own little life. Not like I'm important."

            "You're not," Zelda replied fiercely, heaving her bass higher on her back and stomping furiously out the door, amp in hand. Malon was waiting in her hummer halfway down the gravel driveway, and stepped out of her car to help Zelda load up her things.

            "You look mad," Malon commented as Zelda tossed the amp into the back seat.

            "I'm furious," Zelda replied, slamming the trunk shut a little harder than necessary and stowing her bass in the back seat.

            "What happened?"

            "Link, the dick," Zelda replied, a vein ticking in her jaw as she pulled herself up into the passenger side. "Yesterday he was all pissed when I came home and gave me some cock and bull story about being concerned. Hell, he didn't even realize I was gone until his idiot friend left and he had nobody home to distract him from his meaningless existence.  Asshole."

            "Men," sighed Malon, shaking her head. "The three legged gender. I'm sorry Link's giving you a rough time. You ever need me, call me. You can escape to my casa if need be."

            "Really?" Zelda asked, relieved. Thank the Goddesses for angels like Malon.

            "Really," Malon said with a serious nod. "How about I take you out for ice cream after practice? My treat."

            "You don't have to," Zelda replied wearily. "I wouldn't want to impose…"

            Malon laughed. "Nah. I just got paid anyway, so I have an excess in funding."

            "Really? Where do you work?"

            "At the perfume counter at my dad's department store. Hey, if you like, I can set you up with a job too…"

            "I'm fine on the job front," Zelda replied humorlessly. "My dad set up a bank account for me so I could buy clothes and things without imposing on L – on Impa and Haft." Zelda's face turned a little red from anger at the young man whose name she had nearly mentioned, but she shook it off. "Only, I couldn't possibly drain the account unless I were to buy everything designer, which I don't. So I'm fine, I think."

            "Really? That's cool," Malon commented, pulling into Mikau's driveway. "You feeling okay?"

            "I'm fine," Zelda said, albeit with a lightly nervous laugh. "I mean, I'm with people who don't want to control my life, so…"

            "That's always a good thing," stated Malon solemnly then cracked up. "Like I said. Three legged gender."

            The two young women got Zelda's things out of the car and into the open, empty garage then sat down to wait. Sure enough, several moments later Mikau appeared, all smiles and sunshine, carrying his guitar.

            "Good afternoon, ladies." He flashed a smile as he unpacked his guitar then turned to plug it into the amp, and plug the amp into the wall. "How are two exceedingly beautiful beings such as yourselves doing on this lovely summer day?"

            "Shove it, Mikau," snapped Malon good-naturedly. "I'm already taken, and so are you."

            "Doesn't mean I can't dote upon the best bassist in the world and the most perfect fan girl, now can I?" Mikau walked forward and looped his arms around Malon and Zelda's shoulder, earning a giggle from both women. Just then, Darmani's red truck chugged to a halt down on the street, and Malon leapt up, dashing down the hot pavement to greet her boyfriend with a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

            "You don't seem too peachy today, Zel," Mikau commented, patting her ponytail. "Care to give me the scoop?"

            "Had a fight with Link," Zelda said, and turned around, smiling at Mikau. "Nothing serious. Now come on, let's go help Darmani with his things."

            "Right-o," chirped Mikau. "So, anyway, I did some composing last night…"

----

            Later that afternoon after a cone of triple-scooped mint chocolate chip ice cream and lots of female bonding time with Malon, Zelda was lounging around on her bed once more, flipping through a "chick magazine" when a soft knock came at her door.

            Ugh, it'd better not be Link, Zelda mentally groaned, wrinkling her nose. "Who is it?"

            "It's Saria," came the little girl's answering call. "Can I come in?"

            "Yeah," called Zelda, though she couldn't quite uncoil her muscles. If it had been Jayda, she would have had no doubts as the little blonde idolized Zelda, but Saria was a little closer to Link, which could cause even more troubles…

            The little green-haired girl twisted the knob and entered, shutting the door behind her and climbing up to sit across from Zelda on the high sleigh bed.

            "So, what can I do for you?" Zelda asked, leaning back and flipping her magazine shut, tossing it down onto the carpet.

            "Well," said Saria, munching her little lip, "I heard you and Link fighting earlier."

            "Yeah," said Zelda, trying not to frown.

            "Why are you angry at him, Zelda?" Saria asked, turning her big green eyes on the older girl. They were full of naïve confusion, and Zelda couldn't help but melt.

            "Link and I just aren't getting along right now," Zelda explained softly. "His friends and my friends are different, and I left for a friend's house yesterday without telling him, so he's kind of mad."

            "Link doesn't want to see you get hurt," Saria said innocently. "I heard him. Please, try not to fight with Link. It makes me sad."

            "I'll try, Saria," said Zelda, leaning forward and patting the small girl on the head. "I'll try not to fight with him, but that doesn't mean I'm still not angry. We both said a lot of hurtful things to one another, so it may be a while before we get along again."

            "Link can be kind of stupid sometimes," said Saria, "but he's my brother, so I love him anyway. Are you my sister now, Zelda?"

            "No, I'm not your sister, but that doesn't mean you can't love me anyway."

            "That means Link can love you, too?" Saria asked innocently.

            "Yes, but not like he loves you," Zelda replied, feeling a pang in her heart.

            "Please try not to fight any more," Saria stated as she slipped off the bed and made her way to the door. "He's worried, and he's angry at you because he loves you, I think."

            "Thanks, Saria." Zelda sank into the pillows, eyes glazing over as she stared at the ceiling, murmuring quietly at the click of the door closing once more, "I'll keep that in mind."

----

            Little did Zelda know, Link was having a similar conversation right across the hall, courtesy of AOL instant messenger.

**ThemissingLink:** she's intolerable! i can't stand her.

**AnJuToo:** don't let her know that.

**ThemissingLink:** exactly. r mean, it's like, she just left and r had no idea where she'd gone, and she comes back and screams at me!

**AnJuToo:** that sucks lol  :P

**ThemissingLink:** no kidding

**AnJuToo:** but why were you so mad in the first place?

**ThemissingLink:** i don't know, and that just makes me madder. i guess… ugh, this sounds stupid . 

**AnJuToo: ?**

**ThemissingLink:** once sheep left, i realized that Zelda was gone, too, & i hadn't heard anything about her leaving, either. my mom wasn't home, and neither were my sisters, so i thought that maybe she'd run an errand with them. but then mom came back & so did the girls & there was still no sign of zelda & i started to get worried. sigh

**AnJuToo:** ah….. i c

**AnJuToo: **afraid something had happened to her?

**ThemissingLink:** yeah, i guess. & then i told her that once she'd mysteriously turned up, and i asked her where she'd gone and she just flipped.

**AnJuToo:** well, what exactly did you say to her?

**ThemissingLink:** i don't really remember now. just something about sheep leaving & me noticing that she wasn't around and not knowing where she'd gone and being worried.

**AnJuToo:** that was a mistake.

**ThemissingLink**: how so?

**AnJuToo:** think of things from her angle. she goes to a friend's and comes back, and you say all that stuff and she feels like you're on her case for going out and having fun. it also seems to her like you're smothering her and trying to control her life, and since her life has been controlled from the start by her nazi father, it only serves to make her even more angry. to top things off, you bring sheep into it and it makes her feel like you're comparing her to your friends and that she comes second.

**ThemissingLink:** i never thought of things like that.

**AnJuToo:** lol of course not. you were gifted with a y chromosome.

**ThemissingLink:** lol…. Not. :(

**AnJuToo:** fine then, don't thank me for interpreting.

**ThemissingLink:** thanks but how'd you get to know so much about that kind of thing anyway?

**AnJuToo:** i AM female.

**ThemissingLink:** o yea. thanks again, anju. but i'm still mad at her n e way.

**AnJuToo: **anger is fine. just be sure of one thing, hmm?****

**ThemissingLink: **what?

**AnJuToo: **just don't say anything stupid.


	6. Of Cookie Dough

**The Sixth Sense: Of Cookie Dough**

"Zelda, I'm sorry," Link said, taking her in his arms and looking into her eyes with those deep, crystalline blue orbs he possessed. Inside, she felt herself melting, before she buried her head in his shoulder.

"Oh, Link…" Zelda wept, wrapping her arms around his middle and holding him tightly. "Everything's fine now…."

"Yes," Link said, smiling joyously down at her. "Everything is fine now." Link dipped his head to Zelda and probed her petal soft lips with his own, kissing her sweetly, making Zelda feel almost as though she could fly.

"There's something I've been meaning to ask you," he murmured huskily once he surfaced for air. He looked at Zelda with those beautiful blue eyes, touching his nose to hers.

"Will you be my cookie dough?"

"What?" Zelda asked, recoiling.

"I said, will you be my cookie dough? I promise I won't put you in the freezer and then painfully thaw you…"

"Cookie dough?"

"Yeah," affirmed Link. "You can be my chocolate chip cookie dough, if you'd like…"

Suddenly, a shrill ringing pierced the air and Zelda looked around in alarm.

"Don't worry," Link soothed her, wrapping her up within his embrace once more. "It's just the oven timer going off. So, what do you say?"

"Er, I..." Zelda breathed in and closed her eyes, thinking. It was a lot of responsibility to be someone's cookie dough…

And when she opened her eyes, she was lying in bed and her alarm clock was shrieking next to her ear.

"Owww," grumbled Zelda, sitting up and slapping it quiet. She rubbed her head and furrowed her eyebrows. "Cookie dough? Good lord, what DID I eat yesterday? And Link? Ugh."

Muttering incoherently about Link and cookie dough, she dragged herself out of bed and into the bathroom she had all to herself, showering herself clean and brushing her teeth, washing her face, and blow drying her hair. She even applied a light touch of makeup, and why not? After all, it _was_ the first day of school.

Feeling tense about the day, Zelda pulled on a lacy red bra and matching panties, then a pair of new jeans, a vintage baseball tee, her gray zip-up hoodie, and her brown, scuffed Doc Martins. Casting a nervous eye over her appearance once, Zelda swooped over and tied her hair up in its usual high wavy ponytail and, slightly satisfied, clomped out of her room and down the stairs into the kitchen, where Impa was scrambling eggs and boiling potatoes for a set of breakfast tacos.

"Now, I know you and Link haven't been getting along lately," began Impa, shaking her head and smiling as she spoke, "but you're going to have to tolerate him long enough for him to show you to school."

"Alright," mumbled Zelda, seating herself at the table, then hopping up. "Anything I can do?"

"Eat. You'll need a good meal," Impa commanded, and Zelda sat obediently back down.

"I'm sorry that Link and I are fighting, Impa," apologized Zelda.

Impa gave a laugh. "It's fine. It keeps things around here interesting, and besides, it's natural for young people such as yourselves to fight."

"I see," replied Zelda, furrowing her brows at Impa's oddness.

"By the way," said the ex-hippie as she dropped two still-sizzling breakfast tacos onto Zelda's plate, "I'm not going to be here when you get home this afternoon because I have to take the twins to the doctor for their annual checkup. I'll leave some cookie dough in the fridge, and I would really appreciate it if you could whip up a batch of cookies for me."

Zelda nodded. "Yeah. Sure." Cookie dough? Déjà vu….

Just then, Zelda heard a "whump thump thumpitythumpity thump thump" on the stairs and groaned into her taco. Great. Her _hero_ was awake.

"Are those breakfast tacos, Mom?" Link yawned as he entered the kitchen. Zelda glared at him once and returned to eating, then did a double take.

He was striking in a pair of khaki jeans and a baggy green "The Who" shirt, shining brown combat boots glistening at his feet and his tousled blond hair even more tousled than normal. Through the wheat locks, his ear piercings glinted silver, completing his image. Though on some men this would look terrible, on Link it was nothing short of… well… drop dead sexy.

Zelda immediately stood and fetched herself a glass of icy water to quell the surge of heat that rushed through her at the sight of him. _Bad girl, _she thought to herself._ You hate him, remember?_

_But he's so damn sexy, it makes me just want to..._ her inner self ended in an evil cackle, and Zelda added more ice to the water.

"Glad to see you're awake," said Impa, smiling to her son. "What do you want in your taco?"

Link grinned sleepily. "Everything's good, Mom. You make the best tacos ever."

Impa laughed. "You flatter me, dear. Three tacos?"

"Three would be great," Link said with a smile, plopping down next to Zelda's chair at the table. Zelda proceeded back to the table as well, sitting down edgily next to Link and scarfing down the second of her two breakfast tacos.

"Thank you so much, Mom," Link yawned with a canine grin as he took the plate heaped with tacos from his mother. Zelda hopped up and grabbed her plate, carrying it to the sink and rinsing it off, then bolting out of the room (which had become stifling to her) to fetch her backpack from the coat closet by the front door in the fancy foyer, the foyer Zelda had not yet used, as all of the comings and goings came through the kitchen. She paused for a moment to sit on the plush bench by the large windows looking out into the ruined front garden (courtesy of the workers who had remodeled) and flicked at one of the diamond-shaped panes with her fingernail. Sighing, she stood, swinging her Prada backpack uselessly as she returned to the kitchen.

"Wow," said Impa as Zelda re-entered. "Is that a _Prada_ bag?"

"Yeah," mumbled Zelda, examining it blandly. "My aunt bought it for me."

"What does your aunt do?" Impa asked as she turned off the stove.

"She's a movie makeup artist. She did Orlando Bloom's makeup in Lord of the Rings."

Impa clapped her hands. "How exciting!"

"Yeah," said Zelda with a shrug. "So she's always traveling for movie shoots. She's in high demand."

"How nice." Impa smiled, and turned her back on Zelda, scrubbing the pan off.

"Come on," said Link to Zelda, though not with his usual hostility as he loaded his empty plate into the dish washer. "Let's go."

"Bye, Impa," Zelda called as she followed Link out the door. He grabbed his green backpack from the porch where he'd left it the previous night, and slung it over his shoulders. The two walked along, an uncomfortable silence steadily growing between them, and Zelda unconsciously clenched and unclenched her fists.

"Listen, Zelda…" Link began, stopping and turning to face her. Zelda, surprised, bumped into him then jumped backward as though she'd been electrocuted.

"Yes?" She asked, trying not to explode at him.

"You've been avoiding me for three and a half weeks, and I don't know where you've been, and…"

"It's none of your business where I decide to spend my days," Zelda snapped, walking past him with her nose in the air. "Maybe once you get that through that thick skull of yours…"

"Look, I know it's none of my business," said Link, grabbing Zelda by the forearm and spinning her to face him. "But that doesn't keep me from caring, because despite what you think, Zelda, I _do_ care. And you know why that is?"

"Enlighten me," grumbled Zelda, trying to shake his hand off of her arm – to no avail.

"Because I am your friend, and friends care about each other. Or at least, I was your friend, and I wish I was still. I know you're upset," he continued, softening his voice, searching Zelda's face and trying to meet her eyes, "because I realize that it felt like I was trying to control your life like your father did, but that wasn't it at all. I was worried about you, Zelda, and I care. So please, let's not be angry anymore… please?"

"Oh, Link," sighed Zelda, relaxing a little. "Don't get me wrong, because I still _am_ angry at you, but… I'll try and forgive you. I don't want to fight anymore, either."

Link grinned, pleased. "So," he said, stepping back, "truce?" He extended his hand, and Zelda looked down at it for a moment, thinking.

"Truce." She smiled up at him and took his hand, and found herself quite suddenly pulled into a bear hug.

Link let go of her and stepped back, grinning as he adjusted the backpack on his shoulders. "Great." He turned abruptly on his heel and began to walk once more along the pavement, trotting towards the train station.

"We get to ride the train every day?" Zelda asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yep," replied Link, slipping two ten dollar bills into the pass machine. It popped out two sleek green and white metro cards, and Link handed Zelda one.

"Here," he said. "This is your train pass. Don't lose it."

"We didn't get passes when we went to the mall," Zelda pointed out quizzically as she slid her card into the slot and the bar machine allowed her through. "Or when I went to Fry's to get you those CDs and that hard drive…"

"You can just slip in some quarters for the trip, normally," Link told her as he sat down on a bench to wait, "but really, these are much more practical for the school year. Do you have anywhere safe to keep it?"

"Yeah," said Zelda, plopping down next to Link and setting her bag on her knees, opening up one of the pouches and revealing a small card-holder.

"Ooh," winced Link, looking into the card holder. "You'll need to get a student ID or you can't use the library."

"Blast." Zelda snapped her fingers and closed her backpack up, then leaned back against the bench, closing her eyes. "Ugh," she grunted. "It's too early."

"Hey Zel!" Zelda's eyes popped open and she beheld the redhead standing before her, grinning.

"Malon!" Zelda smiled as well, scooting over to make room for her on the bench.

"You two know each other?" Link asked, confused.

"We've been hanging out," stated Malon airily, brushing her perfect red strands over her shoulder with a French-manicured nail. "So anyway, Zel, I had the weirdest dream last night."

"Really?" Zelda asked, cocking her head. "Funny. I think I did too…"

"Yeah, it was really strange." Malon nodded. "'The Cookie Dough Song' was #1 on the charts nation wide and you were all famous and stuff and…" Malon cast a suspicious eye on Link and leaned in to Zelda, whispering something in her ear. Zelda's jaw dropped and she began to giggle, clapping her hands over her mouth.

"Malon!" she chastised once the redhead was done. "That's absolutely scandalous!"

"I know!" Malon giggled a little herself and shook her head, her perfect red tresses floating in a cloud. "So, what about your dream?"

"Well…" Zelda turned and cupped her hand around Malon's ear, whispering. Malon's eyes went wide.

"No way. No way. No. Way!" She cracked up and Zelda pulled back, blushing. "What is it with cookie dough?"

"I don't know," Zelda responded, grinning despite the redness of her cheeks. "I think it was the 'Cookie Dough Song' yesterday, and… yeah."

Link cleared his throat rather loudly, and both girls jerked their heads around to face him.

"What's this I hear about cookie dough?" he asked. Malon and Zelda looked at each other for a moment then fell into another bout of the giggles.

Just then, Mikau stepped into the station, yawning and rubbing his eyes, Darmani just behind.

"Oo!" Malon squealed and hopped up, running to embrace Darmani. Zelda followed, though slightly more composed, and high-fived with Mikau when she saw him.

"Hey, man," she said with a grin and nodded at Darmani. "You ready for school?"

"Like hell I am," Mikau snorted, swigging deeply from a thermos filled with coffee. "I hate school. I always do miserably."

"That's a lie," interjected Darmani. "You always get the highest scores out of all of us."

"Somethin' wrong with Link?" Mikau asked, squinting around Zelda to the young man still seated on the bench. Zelda instantly felt a pang at having forgotten, and shook her head.

"Nah. I'm going to go sit back down now, though. Band meeting this afternoon?"

"My casa at five," Mikau stated with a nod then walked off with Darmani and Malon in tow. Zelda shook her head, smiling, and returned to the bench to plop down roughly next to Link.

"That's where you've been?" he asked quietly. "They're who you've been hanging out with?"

"Yeah," Zelda said, swiveling her head around to look at him. "Why?"

"I don't like Mikau much," Link said softly.

"Eh, he's cool." Zelda shrugged then stood once more as the train ground to a halt before them. She noticed that there were several other students standing around in the station – people she'd never seen before.

"Who are they? I haven't seen them around," Zelda whispered to Link as they made their way into the train.

"Mostly freshmen," Link grumbled in reply. "Not many people live out here. Most live closer to the city, or in the city itself."

"Ah."

The two friends took their seats and were quiet, both looking out the windows in thought.

----

A mostly quiet and slightly tense fifteen minutes later, Zelda followed Link off the train and down the street in the opposite direction of the shopping mall. Malon, Mikau, and Darmani were quite a ways ahead of them, and though part of Zelda strained to go and hang out with them, another part of her remembered her loyalty to Link. His family had taken her in, had they not? Therefore, Zelda should walk with him.

"So," she began awkwardly, "what exactly is going down today?"

"Homeroom locations will be plastered on the doors to the gym," Link said. "Ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grades will be segregated. You and I won't be in the same homeroom, but that's okay because we'll be close. In homeroom, we'll get our schedules, then get the paperwork Impa has to fill out, and then we'll have a while to sit and talk. It's a half an hour long. The bell will ring and we each go to our different classes. I'll show you to yours – just write out a copy of your schedule."

"Mm-hm," murmured Zelda with a nod, biting on her lip as she took it all in.

"There's four classes a day, and we have A and B days. Classes are an hour long. The passing periods are ten minutes, and there's also a half hour study hall either before or after lunch, depending on which shift of lunch you have. There's two shifts… it's not as complicated as it sounds. You'll get a schedule in homeroom. Oh, and another thing," Link added to a wide-eyed Zelda, "you don't need to worry about missing the train. It runs once every twenty minutes starting at seven in the morning going to about ten at night, so you should be covered, even if you have to come in early to do work or something."

"Uhn," mumbled Zelda. "That's a lot to remember."

"Not really," said Link with a laugh and a smile. "All you need to know is that class is an hour long and that school ends at 3:40 every afternoon. We should have the same lunch, too," Link mumbled, furrowing his brows, "unless they've changed things. Upperclassmen have second shift lunch, and since we're both juniors, we should be in the same lunch."

"Why do they make the upperclassmen wait to eat?" Zelda asked.

"Because," Link explained, "a lot of the seniors get last period free, so they just leave at lunch to go home."

"Ooh," Zelda said, nodding in understanding. "I see. So what time do we eat, then?"

"1:30," Link responded, causing Zelda to wince, "but some teachers are cool and let you eat during their classes."

"I see."

"Don't worry though," Link added hastily, seeing the look of dread and discomfort scrawled across Zelda's features. "After about a week, everything will make perfect sense."

"I hope so."

They rounded a bend in the pavement and several new-looking brick buildings loomed up above them, four floors high and surrounded by an asphalt parking lot and some pathetic grounds.

"The portables and sports fields are in the back, behind the math wing," Link said, noting Zelda's gaze sweeping the lot. "And the gym is by the cafeterias, but you can't see it from here."

"It's huge," Zelda commented as she followed the steady stream of students along the sidewalk and onto school grounds.

"Yeah," Link gave an easy laugh. "It is. You can hang out with your friends now if you'd like. I expect my crew would just bore you..."

Did Zelda detect a hint of bitterness in his voice? "No," she found herself saying. "I'll stay with you for the first few days."

Was that joy that lit up his eyes? A greedy little demon in Zelda's inside coveted it, but maybe it was because Link just wanted her to get along with his friends. Or maybe one of his friends liked her and he was being paid to help her out?

_Now you're over thinking it, girl,_ Zelda told herself. She cleared her throat and looked hesitantly to Link. "Shouldn't we be finding what homeroom we need to go to?"

"I suppose so," replied Link with a shrug, "but it doesn't really matter if we're late on the first day."

"Link!" Zelda swatted at him, knocking his green baseball cap off of his head.

"Thanks for reminding me." Link grinned and shoved the cap into his backpack, then ruffled up his hair. "I get in trouble all the time for that thing."

Zelda rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Then why do you wear it?"

"Because I like it!" The look on Link's face as he said this was too adorable for Zelda to ignore, and she immediately began to giggle.

"What?" Now he looked even more bewildered, and, more importantly, incredibly cute with his rumpled hair hanging into those blue eyes of his…

"Nothing," Zelda said, shaking her head to clear it of certain unwanted thoughts. "Um. Homerooms?"

"Right."


	7. Stalker

**Stage 7: Stalker**

Zelda stared blankly at her schedule.

_Not complicated?_ Her inner self wailed. _I'm going to kill him!_

She sighed, and dutifully set to copying down her schedule for Link, all the while grimacing. Once she had finished, she leaned back, satisfied. In her neat handwriting, she had copied down her schedule onto loose leaf paper, her first sheet to be used for the year.. She picked it up and read over it, brows furrowing. Once she had assured herself that it was perfect, she folded the paper up neatly and slipped it into her pocket.

_At least I have my schedule memorized now_, she thought to herself. Day A was math, Team Sports, English, and French, and Day B was art, history, science, and computer science.

"Easy enough," she mumbled to herself then looked over her locker slip again, committing the number and the combination to memory. She looked back up at her wheezy homeroom teacher, an aged man by the name of Rauru Lux, then abruptly stood as the bell rang.

"Be sure to get those papers all signed," he called over the hubbub as students stood and made their way out the door, many yawning and looking miserable. Zelda followed her classmates out into the hallway and stopped at a large window looking out into the courtyard, everything smaller than it had been that morning to her eyes, which were three floors up. Zelda turned around and leaned back against the window, waiting for Link. He'd told her to stand by the window and that he would come and find her there, but his homeroom was further down the hall and Zelda settled herself down for a few minutes of waiting.

"Zel!" Zelda turned and her ears perked up as she saw a redhead pushing through the crowd of students in the hall to get to her, beaming. She was holding a slip of loose-leaf paper folded into the shape of a crane, and Zelda inwardly had to admire her friend's origami skills.

"For you," Malon said with a grin, presenting Zelda with the crane. "It's a note. Homeroom is always so boring. You waiting for anybody?"

"Yeah," Zelda replied. "Link. He's supposed to show me to my first class."

"Let me see your schedule." Malon held out a hand and Zelda dug into one of the pockets in her jeans and pulled out the folded white slip of paper her schedule had been printed on.

"It looks like we're in math and history together," Malon commented, comparing her schedule with Zelda's. "You're in French?"

"Yeah."

"How romantic. Link'll like that." Malon winked and Zelda found herself blushing.

"Right. Whatever." Zelda looked away, watching the many students passing them by.

"Aw, okay. I'll lay off. We should be seeing one another in the hall quite a bit between classes, too, so that'll be great for note passing. You haven't met Lulu yet, have you?"

"Mm-m." Zelda shook her head, still scanning the crowd for Link.

"You'll like her. Maybe we're lucky and she's in a class with us. She's Mikau's girl – really cool. She went to Cancun for a while, which is why you haven't met her yet, I think."

"Hn."

"Oh, Zelda, you can stop looking around for Link," Malon chastised. "He'll take a while getting here. Don't worry. So, anyway, are you going to eat lunch with us?"

"Maybe," Zelda said, swiveling her head around to face Malon. "Probably. I don't know. It depends."

"On Link?" Malon nudged Zelda in the ribs, and then laughed. "No offense if you choose to eat with them, but it would be awesome if you ate with me and Mikau and Lulu and Darm."

"True. And Link has so many other friends…"

"Exactly," said Malon emphatically, nodding. "Look, there's loverboy."

"I don't like him like that," Zelda said to Malon with a sigh.

"Like who?" Link appeared next to Zelda's side, breathing hard and looking over his shoulder like a panicked deer.

"Nobody. What happened to you?"

"Ruto." Malon let out a high pitched giggle and Link winced, hiding behind Zelda.

"What's this?" Zelda asked. "Ruto? Who is that?"

"Lulu's little sister," clarified Malon.

"She's obsessed with me," Link whimpered. Zelda rolled her eyes and sighed, stepping away from Link and reaching into her pocket for the copy of her schedule that she had written for him.

"There," she said. "And Malon's in my math class, so I should be good."

"My first class is near there. I'll walk with you. And… um… can I ask you a favor, Zelda?"

"If you want me to pretend to be your girlfriend to scare Ruto off you, therefore putting me at the brunt of her fury, then, no."

"Damn." Link snapped his fingers dejectedly and walked a little ahead of the two young women, and Malon leaned into Zelda.

"Not like that, huh?"

"Shut up."

Link whirled around. "Secrets secrets are no fun! They should be told to everyone!" he sing-songed, causing Malon to smack him rather roughly in the face.

"Keep walking, punk."

"Yes ma'am."

"So, why's this Ruto so obsessed with you, Link?"

"Beats the hell out of me," he replied, slowing his pace to walk on Zelda's other side.

"I know why," Malon chirped up.

"Enlighten us," Link responded dryly, moving to stand behind the two young women as they descended a stairwell.

"Back when you and Lulu and I were in seventh grade and Ruto was in sixth, she dropped her books on the stairs. You stopped to help her pick them up and she was smitten with you after that, saying that you had marked yourself as her true love when you stopped to help her."

"If I'd known that at the time," Link fumed, "then I would have kicked her books down an extra few stairs."

"But you _didn't_," emphasized Malon. "So she thinks you're in love with her."

"She's got a twisted sense of love," Zelda remarked, following Malon as she turned out of the stairwell at the first floor and down a hallway, out a door and under a covered walkway. "And three years? That's an awful long time to chase someone over a few books."

"Ruto's a bit spoiled," Malon commented. "Most men won't have anything to do with her."

"Does that mean Lulu's spoiled, too?" Zelda asked, batting at Link's hand as he absentmindedly plucked at a few strands of hair hanging from her ponytail.

"Nah. Lulu and Ruto are like day and night. They're totally different from one another. Lulu's sweet, and Ruto…"

"Hide me!" Link dodged behind Zelda, cowering in the shadow of her cherry red Prada backpack.

"Why?" Zelda asked. Malon sighed and stood next to Zelda, blocking Link from view as a pretty girl with a perfect tan and hair so black it seemed blue pranced by in designer greens and blues.

"Funny," she said to herself in an obnoxious, high-pitched voice, looking around with a clueless expression upon her face. "I could have sworn I just saw him. Hm, oh well." She flounced on past and pushed through two double doors into another building. Link stepped out from behind the two young women, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Whew," he said. "Thank you so much. You saved me."

"You owe us both a Coke," Malon told him, and grabbed Zelda by the arm. "Come on. This is the math wing."

"Wait for me," Link stuttered, stumbling after the blond and the redhead. "I have math first block too, you know."

"Pity you," sighed Malon, and Zelda giggled; however, she slowed her pace so that Link might catch up with them.

"You women are so cruel." He shook his head and began to ascend a staircase. "I'm fourth floor. What about you two?"

"Second." Zelda shrugged one shoulder and followed Link onto the staircase.

"If you wait by the stairs, I can show you how to get to the gym from here," Link offered.

"That's good," Malon said with a grin, "because my next class is in the opposite direction. Someone needs to take care of Zelda."

"I can take care of myself," Zelda muttered, though in secret, she was pleased that she would get a little time with Link without Malon's cheerfully smothering presence looming about them both. "But it would be nice if you can show me to the gym."

"Sure thing. Heh, you have Nabooru for gym. You'll have fun."

"Nabooru? It says Geru here…"

"She makes her students call her by her first name. She's cool but tough," Malon clarified. "You'll like her. This is our stop."

"Bye, Link." Zelda allowed Malon to pull her off the staircase and down the hall, crashing into Malon when the redhead abruptly stopped and whirled around.

"I'm getting vibes between you two," Malon said, shaking her head and smiling. "I don't think you're all that you don't think you are."

"Let's just get to class."

"Sensitive subject?" Malon danced out of reach of Zelda's swat as they entered the classroom, and Zelda stuck her tongue out.

"There's about as many vibes between me and Link as you and Ruto."

"Ewww, you little skank!" Malon cringed and shuddered, making a displeased noise.

"What's this I hear about Malon having the hots for my little sister?"

"Lulu, you know my boat does not float that way," Malon wailed with a shudder, causing a few stares. She narrowed her eyes and cleared her throat. "Go back to what you were doing, all of you." There was a murmur and a shifting of papers, and the few people in the classroom turned back to whatever it was they had been doing before.

"Hi," said the young woman who had spoken: she was almost an exact image of Ruto, though her features were pretty and kind, whereas Ruto's had possessed a certain look of snobbish disdain about them. She smiled at Zelda, and the young blond acutely noted that she had eyes the color that Zelda had never seen before, like a tropic sea. "I'm Lulu." She extended a hand complete with five perfectly manicured nails, and Zelda took it.

"Zelda." They shook hands and Lulu stepped back, studying Zelda. She then turned to Malon.

"You're right. She is very pretty. Lucky we all have this class together."

"Yep."

"Let's claim our seats," Lulu suggested, brushing off her pleated denim skirt. "Come on."

"What other classes do you have today, Lu?" Malon asked, following the striking young woman across the room with Zelda in tow.

"I'm not sure." Lulu tossed a perfect, gleaming strand over her shoulder and seated herself daintily in her desk. Malon sat down next to her, and Zelda behind Malon.

"Well, let's each copy our schedule twice," Malon said. "So we can all have one another's schedules."

"I heard you went to Cancun," Zelda said to Lulu. "How was it?"

"It was fun," said Lulu with a shrug. "It would have been better, though, if Ruto hadn't hit on every pair of swimming trunks that came our way. Honestly, that girl. She's impossible."

"She still has that obsession with Link, I see," Malon commented. Lulu sighed and shook her head.

"Unfortunately, yes. It's disgusting. I tried explaining to her that Link isn't the one for her, but…" Lulu trailed off and combed a few blue-black strands away from her face. "Well, you know."

"We saw," said Zelda with a wry grin.

"Link belongs to Zelda here now."

"He does not," Zelda squawked, pulling the paper crane out of her pocket. "He's my friend."

"Friend with benefits." Malon winked, and Lulu giggled.

"We're not like that," Zelda replied blandly, unfolding the crane. Just then, the teacher walked into the room and Zelda dropped the crane into her lap.

"Hello, class," chirped the teacher, a large, red-nosed man in a green – _green?_ – suit. "I'm Mr. Tingle, your teacher for first period Pre-cal. Today, we will be going to the library to receive our textbooks, which will take up most of class. However, when we get back, you will each receive several handouts, as well as an introduction to Pre-cal worksheet. Before we go to the library – do any of you in here not have student I.D.'s?"

About three people, along with Zelda, raised their hands. Mr. Tingle nodded, and smiled lightly.

"I suspected so. You four, come to the front. I'll write you a pass to the I.D. room. The rest of you, bring your I.D.'s but leave everything else here. Come on, now, let's go."

Zelda stood and crammed the paper crane into her pocket. Malon's note would have to wait.

----

The library was its own building on the east side of campus – one floor, thousands and thousands of books. Zelda found herself standing at the back of the long, long textbook line with Malon and Lulu, who had been kind enough to wait for her, peering edgily over all the heads in front of her leading to the checkout desk, where they had ever-so-wisely set up one computer to input at least four hundred textbooks.

"Come on, Zel," Malon encouraged. "Let's have a look at the ID."

"No way." Zelda shook her head firmly, crossing her arms. "You are not seeing my ID."

"Come on, Zel," stated Lulu. "You've seen ours."

"Which are fifty times better than _mine_. Lulu, you look like a model in yours, and Malon… well, it's better than mine anyway."

"Are you saying I don't look like a model in mine?" Malon asked, affronted, causing Lulu to giggle into her palm.

"No, well, yes, well…"

Malon grinned. "Ah, no offense taken. Lulu's always devastatingly beautiful, no?"

"Hey." Lulu blushed, looking away. "I am not."

"Oh, you are so, chickie, and if you deny it one more time I'mma smack you."

Zelda sighed as they took a few steps forward, peering over the heads of the many students in front of her.

"Why is this taking so long?" she finally asked.

"Because every first block class is in here getting their textbooks, and we just so happen to be at the back of the line. Just relax, girl. We've got a while to wait." Malon brushed a strand of gleaming cherry hair over her shoulder and leaned against the wall behind them with a sigh.

"I hate waiting," mumbled Zelda.

"Let's have a look at that I.D." Lulu grinned and lunged at Zelda, who leapt nimbly out of the way.

"No," Zelda replied firmly.

"Have it over," wheedled Malon. "Come on now. Please?"

"No."

"Pleeease?"

"No."

Lulu leaned calmly against the wall, twirling a shining blue-black strand of hair around her finger and chewing her gum as she watched the two. Grinning, she spoke up. "I'll tell Link you have the hots for him."

"I do NOT," replied Zelda, going red to the tips of her ears.

"You know, Zel," Malon said simply, snatching the I.D. away from Zelda as she stuttered in horror, "you really need to chill sometimes. Hn, this isn't so bad."

Zelda muttered something incoherently under her breath, glaring at Malon as she passed the I.D. to Lulu, who glanced down at it with a smile.

"You look cute," she said simply, tugging lightly at the shell choker she wore around her neck.

"For a retard, yeah. Are you done with that yet?"

"Yep," replied Malon, handing Zelda the I.D.

"Miss," one of the teachers patrolling the line eyes Lulu up and down with contempt, "I'm afraid you're not allowed to have hair dyed colors not found in nature."

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, Mr. Sakon." Lulu batted her eyes and smiled at the skinny, pasty man. "But this is natural, you see. Mother's genes. I don't know if you know my little sister Ruto- her hair is almost exactly the same color. We're the children of mutants, I'm afraid." Lulu put on a dramatic sigh and Mr. Sakon sneered, but didn't press the matter and went to go pester some students about eating in the library. Lulu blew a bubble with her gum at his back and popped it deftly, continuing to chew on her beloved Juicy Fruit.

"I suspect that won't be the first time this year you get that," snickered Malon. Lulu sighed and shook her head, her perfect strands streaming around her like those in an Herbal Essences commercial.

"Honestly," she sighed, rolling her eyes. "I get it every year. The system hates me."

"But your hair doesn't look fake," replied Zelda, poking the glossy strands."

"Tell that to them," Lulu sighed, and they moved up another inch. Zelda peered over the line of heads in front of her and sighed, shaking her head.

It would be a long wait.

----

A whopping forty two minutes and eighteen seconds later found Zelda throwing her worksheets and paperwork into her binder, joining in on Lulu and Malon's mindless banter.

"So I told him that I have a boyfriend, and he asked why it wasn't him." Malon laughed, covering her face. "And I told him that it's because he's an ass."

"Bet he didn't like that." Lulu smiled, shaking her head. "Honestly, Mal. Sometimes you're mean."

"Well what was I supposed to do?" she wailed. "The man was hitting on me left and right."

"And he was twice your age, wasn't he?" Zelda asked, leaning over Malon's shoulder. The redhead nodded, shuddering.

"Eeeew," chorused Lulu and Zelda together. Just then, the bell rang, and the three young women stood, hoisting their backpacks onto their backs, and made their way out of the math room, still talking.

"I'll see you guys later," Zelda called to them as they set off down the hall in the direction of the science wing. Lulu turned around and waved, and Malon flashed Zelda the thumbs up before turning to Lulu and saying something else. Zelda smiled and shook her head, and stood by the entrance to the staircase. Sure enough, she hadn't been waiting thirty seconds before Link appeared, rolling his eyes.

"The woman's a witch!" he spat, grabbing Zelda's elbow and dragging her down the next flight of stairs.

"Who?" asked Zelda, confused.

"My math teacher, Ms. Koutake." Link grimaced, and slowed down slightly to allow Zelda to match her pace to his. "She assigned us fifty problems homework. Honestly!"

"Aren't you only in Algebra II?"

"Doesn't matter to the witch." Link made a face and stopped at the bottom of the stairwell, causing Zelda to bump roughly into him.

"Now what?" Zelda asked, peering over his shoulder.

"Ruto," Link hissed.

"Not again…" Zelda rolled her eyes and stepped around Link, dragging him down the hallway in the opposite direction of Ruto.

"She's going to see me!" Link whimpered at being so blatantly visible near her. "What are you doing? You're going to wreck five years of strategic avoidance!"

"She's not going to see you," Zelda replied, dragging Link out the door. "She was looking in the other direction. Now where's the gym?"

"I can't take you to it," Link said, "because I have English next and my class is all the way across campus, but…" Link pulled Zelda around one corner of the math/science building and pointed.

"The building right in front of us is the cafeteria. You can see the tables."

"…yeah…" said Zelda, nodding as she looked.

"Cafeteria's left." Link pointed at another box-shaped building similar to the cafeteria. "That's the gym. Just go inside through those doors we were looking at this morning and I'm sure you'll find your class."

"'Kay," said Zelda. "Thanks, Link. Really."

Link grinned. "No problem. And you have…" he referred to the sheet of paper in his pocket, "English next?"

"Right," said Zelda with a nod. Link turned around and pointed at a building across the campus.

"That's the English wing right over there. See it? Next to that clump of trees?"

Zelda nodded. "Yeah. Thanks, Link. I'll see you at lunch?"

"Sure. Gotta run. Bye, Zel."

"Bye, Link," Zelda replied, watching him set off across the campus at a less than leisurely pace, then turned around, smiling, and set off for the gym.

Zelda pushed open one of the gym doors that was plastered with student's names in alphabetical order and their homeroom number, and found herself in an obviously new gym. There were many students milling around the vicinity, and for a moment, Zelda panicked, until she saw a woman in baggy navy sweat pants and a form-fitting gray sports jersey. She had long red hair drawn up into a ponytail, and despite her pointed features, Zelda noted that she was surprisingly pretty.

"Team sports over here," the woman yelled above the hubbub, her voice slicing easily through the noise generated by the students. Zelda immediately made her way over to where the young woman stood, fidgeting slightly nervously with the straps on her Prada backpack. Almost as though she had picked up on Zelda's nervousness, the teacher's amber eyed gaze fell upon the young woman, and her plush, pink lips curved upward in an encouraging smile.

"What's your name, girl?" she asked.

"Zelda Harkinian."

"Are you new?"

"Yes," Zelda replied, wondering where this was going.

The coach nodded. "Good. It's always good to expand your horizons. Go ahead and have a seat on the bleachers up there, Zelda. And know that you can come to me for anything, okay?"

"Okay." Zelda turned, her mind whirring in too many confused directions at once, and made her way halfway up the bleachers. She plopped roughly down and looked around the gym, watching as other students made their way up the bleachers in various places. After a while, everybody had taken a seat, and the hubbub in the gym had died down.

"This is Team Sports," the young woman called up the bleachers she was standing in front of. "If you're in Varsity track, freshman football or 1-A women's softball, go to your respective coaches. Nobody? Good." Some of the coaches across the gym began to talk to their classes, and Zelda's coach did the same.

"I am Coach Geru," she called up the bleachers. "You may call me Miss Geru, Coach, Coach Geru, or even Nabooru if it so suits your fancy, which I prefer.

"You are not here to have an easy hour long class. You are here to push yourselves. You are here to grow as people and build physical skills that modern culture sorely lacks. But most of all, you are here to have fun.

"As this week is the first week of school, we are not going to be dressing out. However, next week, come prepared. I expect each and every one of you to have your gym clothes with you, as well as a pair of tennis shoes and socks. Shirts will be worn tucked in, and for those of you with long hair, you are to put it up. If you do not yet have your gym clothes, I suggest you go out and get them. Don't know where to get them or what to get, come see me. Next block, we will be getting our lockers, but for today, I will give you a free period. Any questions?"

There was a general murmur, and Nabooru looked around. Satisfied to see the other coaches were wrapping up their speeches, she nodded.

"Very well then. You may converse and congregate, but keep your voices down. And please, no climbing on the basketball hoops. I don't want a repeat of last year and Mido Kokiri." Several students chuckled, and Zelda looked around, wondering what had happened to this Mido Kokiri. She made a mental note to ask Link during lunch. Seeing the students around her standing up and moving around, Zelda did so as well, making her way down the bleachers to Nabooru.

"Um, excuse me, Miss Geru," chirped Zelda once she'd reached the bottom.

"Feel free to call me by my first name if you would like," Nabooru stated wryly.

"Nabooru, then," corrected Zelda. "I don't know where to get my things, or what I need to get…"

Nabooru nodded. "Ah. That would be a problem. I don't suppose you're an exchange student, by any chance?"

"I guess you could put it that way," Zelda mumbled, shrugging.

"Does your family have any students here?" Nabooru continued.

"Yeah. A boy my age. Link Tudor?"

"Ah, Link." Nabooro smiled, looking back into the past. "He's a fun kid. If you'd like, I'll give Impa a call and let her know so you don't have the stressful task of remembering. Would that be okay?"

"That would be great. Thanks, Mi… Nabooru."

"Don't mention it." Nabooru smiled, and patted Zelda's shoulder. "Like I said. Any thing I can do to help."

Zelda nodded and smiled, then turned and made her way up to the top of the bleachers, where she pulled the paper crane out of her lap and unfolded it. Malon had written the note in sparkly orange gelly ink – typical, Zelda thought to herself as her eyes began to graze over the redhead's big bubble letters.

_ Hey Zel-_

_ I'm n homeroom right now & it is SO BORING. I can't believe they force us 2 attend this every day of every school year, but I suppose that they are not inclined 2 ever give us a break from school. Can u believe all the paperwork they're making us take home? Arg, my mom is going 2 flip out. I'm all tired & stuff, & I wish we didn't have 2 come back 2 school so soon, but like I said, they are not inclined 2 ever give us a break. Well, I mean, they do, just they never give us a decent break, lol._

_ N e way, just wondering what's up. One of __ur__ man's friends is n this homeroom – Sheep. He's weird, don't u think? He's playing tic-tac-toe with this one guy that absolutely everybody knows. His name is Khail, and he keeps asking Sheep about u. I think he might like u, but Sheep keeps saying somethin' under his breath & I can't hear what. N e way, whatever it is Sheep says shuts Khail up for a few minutes, then he starts asking again. U met Khail b4? I'd be surprised if u hadn't, because absolutely everybody knows Khail. He hangs out with the gamers but he somehow manages 2 b a stud. I'm just warning u because as nice as Khail is, don't let him make you fall n love with him. Imagine how hurt __ur__ man would be! Lol poor Link. _

_Bell__'s about 2 ring. I'll c u l8er!_

_ Mal_


	8. INNUENDO GALORE! Stalker, Part II

**Installment #8: INNUENDO GALORE! (stalker part II)**

Zelda sat in the school courtyard under the merciful shade provided by one of many trees, her binder propped up on her knees as she chewed on her pen and stared thoughtfully at her science homework. She'd been in school for nearly a month now, and, sure enough, she'd already grown accustomed to the way things functioned.

"Hey there, Princess."

"I've told you not to call me that in public, you know that, right?" Zelda mumbled to Link, tapping her pen on her nose as she begged the chemistry problem to bend to her will and answer itself. Link sat down next to Zelda, peering over her shoulder at the homework.

"Why aren't you sitting with the rest of your motley crew?" he asked.

"The same could be said for you," Zelda replied, brows furrowed, scratching down an answer she hoped was write and then continuing to the next, equally impossible problem.

"Felt like a break from their banter for a while."

"Malon's doing homework in the library, Lu's off somewhere with Mikau, and Darmani is in tutoring, if I'm right."

"Tutoring? During lunch?"

"He was in tutoring during study hall, too, according to Malon. First month of school and he's already having problems…"

"That's depressing."

"No kidding." Zelda twirled her pen around a few times, then finally slammed her binder shut and dropped her pen. "I can't think. I need food."

"What do you have next?" Link asked, watching Zelda as she reached into her backpack and pulled out a brown sack lunch.

"Uhmmm… comp sci."

"I thought you had French."

"_Non, c'est demain_," Zelda said to him in her perfect French accent.

"No habla French," Link muttered, causing Zelda to giggle.

"I said, 'no, that is tomorrow.' And never say 'no habla French' to someone whose native tongue is French – they'd slaughter you with their expensive Parisian pastries."

"Or maybe they'd suffocate me with mousse?" Link asked good-humoredly, causing Zelda to giggle lightly into her hand as she pulled out her peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She sighed and leaned back against the tree trunk, gazing out at the other students wandering around in the courtyard.

"Hey, Zelda…" Link was leaning back against the tree trunk and staring up into the branches above, his expression unreadable.

"Mm?" she asked through her mouthful of sandwich.

"Do you want to go to the game tonight?" Link's face was carefully blank, and against her will, Zelda found herself swallowing the rather large bite she'd just taken – whole.

"The football game?"

"It's the first game of the season," Link said. "Us versus Black Canon High – it's inner city. We'd go as friends, of course."

"Oh." Zelda felt a sinking within her, though she didn't know why. "Sure. That would be a lot of fun. I've never been to a real football game…"

"Really?" Link looked at her, surprised, then smiled a beautiful, sparkling white smile that left Zelda feeling like she'd been hit by a train, gasping for air and feeling disoriented. "They're a lot of fun. I haven't been to many myself, though…"

"Why not?" Zelda asked, still trying to recover from Link's dazzling smile. Had it always been so….so…irresistible?

"Nobody to go with." Link shrugged, and continued, "I went to a few because Sheep, Rhys, and Lewis are in band and they perform. Oh, and Kafei – at least, he was, until they kicked him off."

"They kicked Kafei out of band?" Zelda was incredulous.

"Yeah." Link laughed, running his hand along the back of his neck, and Zelda realized quite suddenly how very, very hot it was outside… "He hated one of the directors and always acted up."

"Somehow I can't imagine Kafei doing that." Zelda took a swig of the Pepsi Vanilla that she'd purchased from the vending machine and felt the cool liquid sliding through her veins, calming her a little.

"I know, right?" Link laughed and leaned back against the tree, closing his eyes as a breeze blew through the yard. "Part of me wishes it was still summer," he said. "Most of me, actually, but…"

Zelda grinned, shoving a handful of Skittles into her mouth. "School's not as bad as everybody claims it is."

"Well, not at first, anyway," Link corrected. "Towards the end, it gets pretty bad. But the first semester isn't too horrid."

"Want a Skittle?" Zelda offered.

"No thanks." Link turned up his hand in decline then brought his palm to rest over his forehead. "Eh, I wish this day would just end."

"Only one more class." Zelda threw the last of her trash into the paper bag and rolled it shut, standing and making her way over to a trash can near the door to the indoor cafeteria, which was nearly vacant (as all of the students were taking advantage of the beautiful day).

"Yes, only one more class," Link continued once Zelda had sat back down again, "but it's still a whole extra hour that we have to endure. At least you have comp sci."

"Lucky me, pity you," teased Zelda, flicking Link on the nose. "And you have gym."

"Jogging the track," groaned Link. "I'm going to die in this heat."

"I call your room," said Zelda solemnly. Link's death glare sent her into a bout of the giggles and she leaned against his shoulder, tired. "It's hot," she idly commented.

"Yup." Link patted her head, and she sat up again, pulling out her binder and pen once more and glaring down at her work sheet. "I don't suppose you're any good at chemistry?"

----

Forty seven minutes and fifty six and a half seconds later, Zelda was idly swiveling about in front of her computer in comp sci. She was thinking about the football game that night with Link, and, as it was Friday anyway, their teacher wasn't bothering to enforce the rules. So she stared blandly at her computer screen as she surfed the web, listening to her MP3 player, when a window popped up.

_ Hi._

Zelda stared at the box onscreen: black, with white blinking text and computer coding she didn't understand.

_ I'm using command to talk to you. Go ahead and type in a reply. I've programmed it to feed into my computer properly through the network._

Zelda tentatively placed her hands on the keyboard.

** Who is this?**

_ That's a secret, and secrets are for keeping._

** You're some kind of sick stalker, aren't you?**

Zelda turned her MP3 player down momentarily, but could hear no sound of laughter over the hubbub. Rather, no traceable sound of laughter.

_ Maybe I am and maybe I'm not. Maybe I just feel like getting to know you, Princess._

Princess? That was Link's nickname for her…

** You ARE stalking me_._**

****

_ Now, now, Princess, don't jump to conclusions so fast. Maybe I just think that you should get the royal treatment you deserve._

****

** Get off my computer.**

****

_ Hardly a polite way to ask, hm?_

****

** Now.**

****

****_ Fine, have it your way._

****

****The screen vanished. Zelda tried not to look around or seem spooked, so instead, she contented herself with returning to the particular news article she was browsing about third world countries. Suddenly, the black box appeared again.

****

****_ Enjoying your article on starving babies in __China__?_

****

** Piss off_._**

****

****_ I get the feeling you don't want to talk to me._

****

** Like hell.**

****

****_ Maybe you should be flattered. Maybe you should appreciate that someone went to a lot of trouble to talk to you._

****

** I still say stalker.**

_ As the shepherd who called wolf. Come now, Princess. Can't we compromise?_

****

** No. Now get off my computer, or else.**

****

****_ Or else what? I hardly see how you can do anything, as you don't know who I am._

****

** Try me.**

****

****Zelda was fuming as she shut down her programs.

_ What are you doing?_

****

****Zelda hit the start menu and shut her computer down, leaning back in her chair and reaching into her bag. She was creeped out, but she wasn't going to let it show. So she pulled out the chemistry that Link had so clumsily explained to her earlier and got to work, doing her best not to glance around the classroom. A tiresome forty minutes later, the bell rang, and Zelda was certain that she had never been happier to hear the shrill sound in her life. Hastily, she picked up her backpack, slipping her binder inside, and left the class, trying to block out what had occurred.

Link met her at the entryway to the school, and instantly picked up on her foul mood.

"What's wrong?" he asked her.

"Nothing," Zelda replied, taking him by the wrist and dragging him to the train station. "Now come on."

"What's the rush?" Link asked, confused.

"No rush." Zelda quickened the pace.

"You're upset."

"No, I'm not."

"You're a terrible liar."

"Shut up."

They reached the train station in record time, arriving long before any other students.

"Now that there's nobody in sight," Link panted, "do you care to tell me what the problem really is?"

"Nothing I can't handle." Zelda didn't blink as Link collapsed on a bench, casting suspicious glances around out of the corners of her eyes. "What did you do in gym today?"

Link blinked once, twice then shook his head. "Nothing much," he replied. "Sat in the air conditioned gym and took a quiz over the improper ways to weight train. Why?"

"No reason. Who in the school is really good with computers?"

"My crew." Link shrugged, and thought for a moment. "We collected, regardless of social status or position on the food chain."

"Food chain?"

"Grade level," Link clarified. "There aren't many people at school who know as much about computers as myself and the idiots I cast my lot in with."

"How would you program another computer through the network?"

"What happened in comp sci?" Link asked. "You're spooked beyond belief. Did somebody do something?"

"No. I'm only wondering."

Zelda inwardly questioned her reasoning behind not telling Link, but she assured herself that it was because she didn't want him to worry. Because, after all, there really was nothing worse in her eyes than a hot, concerned, friendly, hot, obnoxious, hot, overzealous computer nerd.

Wait. How many "hot's" was that?

"Zel?"

"What?" she snapped, then closed her eyes, breathed in deeply, shook her head once, and then opened her eyes again, smiling at Link. "Sorry," she offered. "You startled me."

"You're blushing," he pointed out, prodding her cheek. "Might I ask why, per chance?"

"You may not," she said, hopping to her feet as the train ground to a halt in front of them. "Come on." She grabbed his wrist and yanked him towards the opening doors, and then suddenly, inexplicably, his arm slid backwards and their hands locked, fingers intertwining subconsciously as she dragged him onto the train, then suddenly skidding to a halt to avoid smashing into the unopened doors on the other side of the metro rail.

"You're jumpy today," Link remarked unnecessarily. "You sure you don't want to tell me about whatever it was that happened in comp sci?"

"Nothing to tell, because nothing happened," Zelda said, glancing over her shoulder at the open door. None of the students were making a move to come stand in Link and Zelda's otherwise empty carriage, and Zelda sagged in relief, sighing and leaning against one of the poles.

"Um, Zelda?"

"Eh?"

"Are you going to let go of my hand?"

Zelda looked down in surprise to see her fingers twisted with Link's – she hadn't even noticed when her grip slipped. Embarrassed, she let go of his digits as though they were made of hot steel.

_They are hot, though,_ Zelda found herself inwardly saying as her glance strayed almost longingly to his hand once more, then she mentally slapped herself. _Bad girl._

"Are you okay?"

"Fine, fine." Zelda attempted to laugh airily but wound up sounding like a madwoman, causing Link's intensely blue, quizzical look to become even more pronounced. "Come on," she muttered, slouching and giving it up. "Let's just sit down before the train moves, shall we?"

"Right." Link nodded once, and even though Zelda had turned her back and was proceeding to "her" seat, she could still sense those beautiful blue eyes on her back.

_Not beautiful,_ she said to herself, slapping herself once more mentally. _They're just ordinary eyes. What's with you today, girl?_

Zelda gave a sigh, dropping her poor Prada back roughly on the floor and propping her feet up. Link plopped down across from her, removing his own patch-covered, forest green backpack and tossing it carelessly into the seat next to him.

"I'm tired," she complained. "I can't wait to just get home and relax. I'm so glad there's no band practice this afternoon."

"That's fine," Link replied, absently picking at a thread on his jeans. "We have two and a half hours before the game begins, and it'll take us about a half hour to drive to the stadium. We can have pizza for dinner there," he added, casting a glance upward at Zelda once – shyly, almost – and then returning his focus to the thread on his pants.

"This is gonna be so much fun," Zelda said with a grin as she tipped her head back, removing the hair tie from her hair and raking her fingers through her wavy, golden locks.

"Yep." Link nodded, idly watching Zelda's pale, slim, lightly calloused fingers rake through the sunshine strands, then turning away and fetching his cap from his bag, squashing it decidedly onto his head.

"You and that hat," laughed Zelda as she tied her hair up in a floppy bun. "What would you ever do if something were to happen to it?"

"Cry for a bit, then go out and buy another one." Link shrugged and grinned like a feral wolf, exposing his pointed, pearly canines. Zelda's heart fluttered lightly, and this time she knocked her head back against the plastic armrest of the next seat behind her – a little harder than intended, unfortunately.

Whack.

"Ohmigosh, Zelda, are you okay?" Link looked horrified (albeit in a slightly amused sort of way) as Zelda clutched the back of her head.

"Owww…."

_Today's just not my day._

----

Zelda was laying on her bed, petting Valoo, her constant at-home companion as she thought idly over the day's events.

"Okay," she said out loud. "So I was fine until up around lunch. Then I start getting that weird fluttery feeling that I can't shake. Then comes comp sci, and a certain someone keeps invading my thoughts. Then that weird creep… and then the train ride, where I kept acting up. Not to mention that now my head hurts." Zelda tenderly touched the lump on the back of her head, cursing herself for her stupidity. She looked at Valoo, sighing. "What do you think, kitty?"

Valoo closed his eyes and stretched out underneath Zelda's hands as she patted his fur, purring.

"Fat load of help you are," she commented to the fur ball.

"Do you always talk to yourself?" Zelda leapt up and Valoo looked at her, affronted at the lack of petting.

"I've told you, Link, you're supposed to knock before you come in," she grumbled, face going cherry red as she glowered at the young man leaning against the door frame, arms crossed over his chest as he smirked at her. "What if I had been naked?"

"You would have a very happy Link on your hands, then." He snickered and trotted across the room to plop down next to Zelda on the bed, leaning on one elbow and reaching out to thump Valoo in the side. Zelda, whose mouth had dropped open at Link's lewd statement, twitched as though rousing from a deep sleep, and then quickly whirled on Link, bashing him atop the head with her curled fist.

"Oww," he whined. "What was that for?"

"You… you… GAH. That's disgusting," Zelda spluttered.

"What is?" Link eyed Zelda with childish innocence and naivety, totally different from the suggestive teen of just moments ago.

"That you would… that… me… ewwww…." Zelda whined like a little thirteen year old girl at the sight of two people making out, shuddering. "You're sick."

"I'm male," he replied with a casual shrug. "Not like I can help it much, can I?"

"You taint my holy living space with your… your… impurity," Zelda finally spat out, though she wasn't altogether sure that she didn't like that fact.

"I'm impure?" Link raised one eyebrow then pointed to_ Red Roses Forever_, which was lying atop one of her two bedside tables, cover blatantly implying what occurred inside. "What about that thing?"

"Shut up," Zelda replied, going very red and turning the book over so that the cover exhibiting a man preparing to bed a woman was out of sight.

"No good." Link grinned like a Cheshire cat, to Zelda's utter indignation. "It's the same on the other side."

"Get out of my room, will you? You taint it with your masculinity. This is a girls' only zone."

"What about Valoo?" Link pointed at the cat, still looking rather amused.

"He's gay. He doesn't count."

"What if I were gay?"

"Out," Zelda barked, whapping Link roughly over the head with a down pillow and causing several small feathers to go flying.

"But I don't _want_ to!" Link whined, covering his head. "And if you hit me with that thing one more time, I swear I'll- mmhph mm mmmm!" His words were cut off as she roughly whacked him in the face with the pillow once more.

"You'll 'mmph mm mmm'? How threatening," she said wryly. Of course, what she didn't count on was him ripping the pillow away from her at the speed of light and pinning her under him. "Link," she said slowly, her eyes going wide. "What are you doing?"

"I'm mmph mm mmm," he said with a predatory grin, and began to ruthlessly tickle her.

"No, Link, don't…" Zelda giggled, writhing under his talented fingers. "Don't… hahahaha… Link… hahahahaha…. Don't…….hehehehehehe… stop….."

"Don't stop?" Link asked as Zelda shrieked with laughter. "Okay."

"No…! Link….."

"Fine, fine," said Link, letting up and getting off of Zelda, who glared at him, panting, hair disheveled. "But only because we have to go now. That's why I came in in the first place. The football game starts in about half an hour."

"Oh," Zelda said flatly once she'd regained her breath. "Okay. Cool. Let me get my jacket."

"Uhm…" Link looked shiftily from side to side, moving his weight from one foot to another. "You won't need that…"


	9. Fraternizing with the enemy

**Zero-nine: Fraternizing with the Enemy**

Zelda watched bemusedly as Link roughly plopped a ten dollar bill on the counter of the concession stand.

"Two slices of grease with meat, a lemon-lime Gatorade, a Cherry Coke, a Kit-kat bar, three Air Heads and a Ring Pop."

The bored-looking student volunteer sauntered away to fetch Link's order, and Zelda laughed.

"Quite the piggy, aren't we, Mr. Hero?"

"Half of it's for you, you know. And don't protest," he added as the volunteer set down the candy and went to retrieve the pizza. "Don't give me any of that diet bull that so many chicks use because I've seen you snarf down five krispy kreme donuts in a row."

"I wasn't going to protest," Zelda replied tranquilly, then eyed the greasy slabs of pizza that were literally dripping that the volunteer was bringing and gulped. "Much."

"You're going to eat it," Link replied. "Grease is good for you."

"Yeah, but not my pores…"

"Quiet," Link shushed her as he gathered the quarters the student threw at his head. "You'll like it."

"Of course," Zelda replied, taking the drinks and candy, allowing Link to proceed ahead with their all-oil main entrée. "I'm just not into greasy pizza."

"After this, you will be. America's finest pizza right here in this very stadium – ah," he said, dipping so one of the slices didn't begin to ooze off the cheap paper plate it had been so carelessly tossed atop. "Anyway, it's good. You'll like it. Trust me."

"Of course, Link," responded Zelda as they made their way up the boiling bleachers through the myriad of tumultuous high school bodies, reeking of perfume and Axe cologne. "Because you're just such a trustable guy."

"I know." He grinned over his shoulder for a split second at her, then continued making his way up the bleachers and to the left, away from the students, so that they could watch the game and ignore their peers' mindless banter. Link plopped down on the bleacher seat underneath the hot, bright lights, and Zelda sat down roughly next to him, exchanging his Gatorade for her pizza and dropping the snacks between them.

"Prepare to be astounded," Link murmured as Zelda tentatively raised the slice of pizza to her mouth. She turned and glared at him, eyebrows furrowing.

"Shut up and eat already," she said, and took a bite of the pizza. And decided that there was too much grease…

….but somehow, it was the best pizza she'd ever had.

"Toldja," Link spouted through a mouthful of pizza.

"It's decent," Zelda replied with an elegant shrug. "Not the best pizza ever, but I'm not complaining."

"Good," replied Link with a grin. "Nothing worse than having an unhappy princess on your hands, hm?"

"Whatever you say, Mr. Hero." Zelda moved her focus to the game, and suddenly hopped up with the rest of the crowd.

"GET 'EM!" She yelled. "GET THE BALL, DAMMIT! TACKLE THE BASTARD! YES! GO! GO GO GO!" She hopped up and down on the seat with her fingers in her mouth, cheering their team on with the rest of the hyperactive, overemotional crowd. Link watched with his mouth open as Zelda screamed her lungs out, dancing around on the bleachers.

"YEAH!" She cheered and danced around as the team scored, hugging Link as the band started up a victory song from the side lines. The score board read 0-7, 2nd quarter, and they were proceeding into half time.

"Um… Zelda?" Link asked as he found his face crammed into her dancing chest.

"What?" she asked him, pulling away and looking down at him. His face was very red. "Can't I just be a little happy if we're winning?"

"Nothing wrong with that." He coughed discreetly, took one more look at her, and clamped his hand over his nose.

"What's wrong, Link?" Zelda asked him.

"I god a dosebleed," he muttered, standing up. "Debbie go do da badroom."

"Okay…" Zelda watched as he stumbled down the bleachers, and then shook her head, watching the hubbub of football players exiting the field.

"And now, we are proud to present a performance by the Eastwood band and Eastwood Eagle Dancers!"

Zelda watched with detached interest as the dancers took their places on the field, clapping along and cheering as they wove a spell over the crowd. Once their dance was over, they exited the field, then the band marched, displaying their "mad nerd skills" as Zelda was sure Link would have put it. Once or twice she could have sworn she recognized some of the people in the band to be of Link's crew, but shrugged it off. Sheep didn't really seem the type to her to play a trombone. (She conveniently forgot the fact that Link's geeky friends were, actually, in the band.)

It was a while before Link finally returned, and when he did, half time was nearly over.

"That took a while," Zelda yelled to him over the noise of the crowd that was pushing her in. She was hot and sweating and had been a little lonely with no Link, but was surprised how much cheerier she felt when he showed up again.

"Sorry," he yelled back as they watched the other team's band performing. "Long line."

"I was bored." Zelda didn't know what evil poltergeist had possessed the connection between her brain and her vocal cords, but she knew that she wasn't very happy about it as she found herself saying, "I was lonely. I missed you."

"Awww, you missed little ol' me?" Link teased, poking her in the side and laughing.

"How could I not?" Zelda was relieved to find that he was taking it as stupid banter, but was still angry at herself. _What was that, you idiot?_

What she didn't notice was that Link made no move to leave her side again that night, not once. And when their team won the game in the last sixty seconds, he didn't even object to her dancing – in fact, he joined in with her. On the cool walk to Impa's car, he stayed by her side, keeping her warm after leaving the warmth of the stadium lights and thousands of bodies, and even allowed her to rest her exhausted head in his lap on the ride home, as they were stuck in the back together with a project of Impa's taking up the front seat.

But most of all, what she didn't notice was how he looked at her when she told him good night, and she didn't hear him quietly say, once he was tucked away in his own bed, "Good night, Princess" in the softest whisper possible, and she didn't see him roll over and kiss the air before falling asleep.

----

The next morning, Zelda awoke to little Jayda sitting atop her stomach, trying to wake her up.

"Whaddayawant, squirt?" Zelda mumbled as her neat blond pigtails swam into view.

"There's a girl on the phone for you. Her name's Malon." Jayda handed Zelda the cordless phone, which had been sitting next to her, but remained sitting on her stomach.

"Ugh, Mal, did you have to call so early?"

"Girl, it's already eleven thirty," came Malon's bubbly reply. Zelda glanced at the clock and sighed.

"So it is."

"You up late or something?" Malon snapped her gum.

"Yeah." Zelda rubbed her eyes a few times, ignoring Jayda sitting atop her stomach. "Link and I went to the game last night."

"We win?"

"Fourteen to zip," Zelda replied.

"Was it like a date?"

"No. Why did you call?"

"Wanted to see if you wanted to go shopping for homecoming dresses." Malon snapped her gum again.

"Homecoming? Dresses?"

"Homecoming is a big event. We exchange homecoming mums, there's a big pep rally, then a huge football game, and then on Saturday there's a dance."

"When is this?"

"Three weeks from now. I'm scheduling appointments to get my makeup and hair and nails done. Lu's coming, too. Feel up to the challenge of being a girly girl?"

"Sure," yawned Zelda. "When are you gonna pick me up?"

"How does about half an hour sound?"

"Sounds good. Bye."

"Bring money."

"I will. Let me go take my shower now."

"'Kay." Malon hung up, and Zelda hit the "talk" button, silencing the line.

"Yes?" she asked Jayda, looking up at the little blond expectantly.

"Mama took Saria to the dentist and Link and Dad are gone so I get to stay with you, Zelda."

Zelda groaned, running her hand along her sleep-grimed face. "Why couldn't you have told me that before I made plans? When will everybody be home?"

"Daddy said he and Link are going to be gone until four and Mom said she'll be back in time to make dinner."

Zelda glanced at the clock and sighed, sitting up, causing little Jayda to go sliding off her stomach. "Let's call around and find you a babysitter."

"No!" Jayda looked dissatisfied, clutching to the front of Zelda's pajama shirt. "I can come! I know all about fashion. I can help you," she replied. Zelda raised an eyebrow and looked down at the little girl.

"You promise not to complain?"

"I promise." Jayda put one of her hands over her heart (and Zelda couldn't help but notice the perfect manicure) and said very seriously, "I won't complain and I won't bother you. I can help you, honest."

Zelda grinned and patted Jayda on the head. "Okay, kiddo, but remember that when we're out shopping. Can I leave you alone for a few minutes so I can get myself cleaned up?"

Jayda made a face. "I'm not a baby. I'm just not allowed at home alone all day." She hopped off the bed, stretching. "I'll make you some oatmeal."

"That safe?"

"I told you I'm not a baby. I know how to use the stove." And Jayda sauntered out of the room, closing the door behind her. Zelda shook her head, smiling lightly, and picked up the phone, quickly dialing in Malon's number.

"Yo, Mal? We've got a slight kink…"

--

"No," said Jayda, examining her nails as Zelda stood bemusedly over her in an ice-colored dress. "It's too light because you're so pale. It bleaches you out and makes you look like a corpse. I'd say go with a healthy peach to bring out the pink in your cheeks, or maybe a crimson."

"What about green?" Malon asked, leaning amusedly against the door of her own stall in a short, flirty, blue-and-cream dress.

"It all depends on the shade. A light green might look nice, but it's considered rather drab. A darker forest green, like the color Link likes, would look good but you'd have to do green eye shadow to match or else it would look funny."

Malon eyed Zelda cattily for a moment, then grinned. "Speaking of Link, what were you and him doing at lunch the other day? I saw you two sitting out together in the courtyard"****

"He was helping me with my chemistry," replied Zelda from within her dressing room.

"Chemistry, huh?" Malon asked, amusement apparent in her face as she watched Zelda come out of the dressing room in a tacky spandex dress that only a cheerleader would wear.

"No," snipped Jayda. "You look trashy."

"We have a regular fashion expert on our hands alright," Malon commented. "How does this look, Jayda?"

"It looks good," she commented, studying Malon up and down. "The blue brings out the color of your eyes and the cream contrasts with the color of your skin, since you're darker than Zelda but lighter than Ruto. "I like the skirt," she added. "The way they've layered the tulle under it to make it flare out really adds curves to your body. It makes your waist look smaller, especially with that blue sash."

"Hi all." Lulu sauntered into the room, several dresses slung over her arm. "Any luck with you two?"

"Jayda has approved this dress," commented Malon wryly, "but we're having a little trouble getting something for Zelda that fits and looks good."

"I curse my father's genes," she grumbled, retreating into her dressing room to pull on her next gown, a flamenco-style dress that swirled like fire.

"Poor Zelda." Lulu shook her head, tossing her blue-black hair. "Cursed to look mediocre."

"I heard that," came Zelda's muffled reply as she struggled out of the tight dress. "And not all of us are born with supermodel genes."

"I don't have any supermodel genes," Lulu pointed out. "Just superstar."

"Pity you." Zelda gave a muffled exclamation, causing both Malon and Lulu to crack up. Jayda looked amused, and grinned in delight as Malon tossed a magazine in her lap.

"Read," commanded the redhead. "I have the feeling that it's going to be a while before Zelda manages to change."

--

Jayda didn't like the red dress. She didn't like the dark blue one, or the elaborate pink one, or the white one or even the sparkly black one. Zelda was feeling frustrated as Lulu and Malon sat with their own dresses in their laps, reading _People_ over Jayda's shoulders. Zelda emerged huffily from her stall in a swirling green dress and Jayda looked up before saying a short "no", then returning her attention to the magazine. Sighing, Zelda retreated back into the stall. She hadn't thought she looked that bad…

She kicked the dress off and reached for her "last hope" – even though she'd been through several "last hopes" and all of them had been hopelessly horrid. Sighing, she pulled on the wine-colored gown, wiggling into it before she realized there was a zipper on the left side. Cursing herself for her stupidity, she unzipped the dress and stepped in, looping her arms under the spaghetti straps and admiring how well it fit through her grumpiness. Zelda zipped the dress back up and examined herself in the mirror, feeling that she didn't look half bad. Maybe Jayda would approve this one. It was two layers and reminded her of a dress Shakespeare's Juliet might wear, from the square neck to the simple cut of the second layer that revealed the first in an inverse V. She combed her fingers through her hair and walked to the door of the stall, pushing it open.

"How about this?" She didn't miss the looks of admiration on the faces of the three girls as they took in Zelda in her dress.

"Cinderella has found her gown," Lulu finally stated. Malon nodded.

"You look fab," she said.

"I like it," Jayda stated. "That color is perfect for you. Brings out the purple in your eyes but doesn't make you look washed out."

"Finally," sighed Zelda in relief.

"Go change," Jayda commanded her. "We're looking at shoes next, and then after that, accessories."

Zelda groaned.

--

When Zelda returned to the house several hours later (with Jayda and many bags in tow, it might be added) she was quite sure that she had never once been happier to see the peeling paint on the back porch door or Impa's jasmine vines crawling up the front pillars. She kicked open the door, stepping into the kitchen and yelling, "We're home!"

"Yo." Link sauntered out of the entertainment room, grinning at Zelda. "You've been gone a while."

"Jay said you wouldn't be back until five," Zelda replied, looking down at the little girl at her elbow, who was currently busy filing her perfect nails, then back up. "How long've you been around?"

"A while." Link easily stretched his arms over his head, muscles bulging through the thin white tank he wore. Zelda felt her heart pace speeding up against her will, and tried to keep the color from rising to her cheeks.

"You're looking buff," she commented against her will. Link grinned, spinning his torso left and then right.

"You think so? I've been working out a little."

"Any reason in particular?"

"No. Whad'ja get?" Link eyed the shopping bags in Zelda's hands as she set them down on the table, and Zelda inwardly wondered if it was an attempt to change the subject. She shrugged – whatever.

"It's a surprise. You'll see eventually."

"Did Jay help?"

"I helped," Jayda piped up, looking up from her nail file. "Though I don't think Zelda appreciated it."

"She had me in the dressing room for hours trying on different dr – designer outfits."

"She's the dominatrix of shopping in this house." Link smiled at his sister as she left the room, then rubbed the back of his neck, tilting his head left and right and being rewarded with an audible "pop!"

"Ew," commented Zelda with a grimace. Link shrugged and moved towards her.

"Want me to carry those up to your room for you?" He stood in front of her, looking down with humor in his eyes.

"I think I got it." They were slowly moving together…

"You sure about that?" They were standing chest to chest, cheek to cheek, his breath tickling her ear as he spoke. Zelda closed her eyes and opened her mouth, taking a deep breath. As she was about to speak, though…

"Zelda, you need to take that thing upstairs NOW and hang it up or it'll get wrinkles," yelled Jayda from the living room. "I hope you're not fraternizing with the enemy."

The spell was broken. Zelda stepped back, hands on her waist, smirking at Link.

"Fraternizing with the enemy?" she yelled, though her eyes were fixated steadily on Link's the whole time. "I would never." She lowered her voice so Jayda would not hear her, "How does she even know that phrase?"

"Ahhh…" Link grinned a little and backed away. "Long story. Hey, I just forgot that I left the TV on and the commercial break will probably be off soon." He was backing farther away, down the hall. "You sure you don't need any help with those bags?"

"I'm fine," replied Zelda, closing her eyes and shaking her head as he disappeared into the TV room.

"I'm not fine," she whispered quietly as she gathered up the bags and carried them to the stairs, up and through the hall into her bedroom. "I'm not fine at all." She hung up the dress in the closet, neatly positioning the matching accessories underneath it, and then sat down on her bed.

"Goddesses' sake, girl," she yelled to herself. "This is Link, the king of idiots here, the royal jerk, the ass hat you're living with and you will NOT, I repeat, will NOT fall for him."

"Dammit." Zelda rolled over on her bed, burying her face in her pillow. "I'm so confused…"

_ Girl, what have you just gotten yourself into?_


	10. James Bond

**#10: James Bond**

It was a beautiful Sunday morning that day, and Zelda was enjoying the good weather to the best of her abilities – meaning, of course, that she was to be found nowhere other than Mikau's greasy garage banging out a rocking riff that melded into the background of the bashing drums, wailing guitar, and Mikau's angry voice.

_You're just so happy, too damn happy_

_ Will somebody please slap me?_

_ You're obnoxious and annoying_

_ Not to mention that you're boring_

_ We were never going steady,_

_ Just let go, will you already?_

_ I don't love you, never loved you_

_ So just walk away out the door_

The song ended, and Zelda grinned at Mikau who grinned at her, with Darmani smirking in the middle of the two.

"I hope that song's not about me." Lulu was standing outside the garage door, looking amused.

"Nope." Mikau's hair was moist as he flipped it out of his eyes. "I didn't even write it."

"Zelda's work, then?" Malon asked as she shoved her car keys in her pocket. "I wonder who it's about?"

"Nobody in general."

"Sneaky of you to drive up while we were rocking out," Darmani said. "We couldn't hear you drive up and we're not looking at the street."

"Well, Lulu and I are just very sneaky," Malon replied with a smirk.

"So," Mikau asked, unplugging his guitar from the amp and walking over to put an arm around his girlfriend, "might I ask what you two lovely ladies have come for? Maybe to see Volvagia perform, or ogle the glamorous lead singer?"

"Don't kid yourself." Malon walked up to Mikau, flicking his nose, and then turning. "We came to kidnap Zelda, of course."

"You don't even care for your boyfriends?" Darmani asked, faking a hurt puppy dog face from behind his set.

"Well, let me see. Hmm…" Malon looked thoughtfully up, crossing one arm over her chest and tapping her finger against her bottom lip. She looked to Lulu with a grin, and as one, they said "No."

"Ladies…" Mikau placed a hand over his heart, hopping back to stand atop his monster amp, "I am truly hurt."

"Good for you. Now can we steal your bassist?" Lulu smirked lightly as Mikau indecisively tried to figure what he valued more – his band, or his girlfriend.

"Let us play two more songs and then you can take her, h'okay?"

Lulu and Malon looked at each other, grins spreading over their features as they said, in unison, "H'okay." ****

"Out of curiosity," Darmani began, twirling a drumstick in his hand, "what do you want her for?"

"It's the second Sunday of the month," Malon replied. The two men looked to Zelda for help; she shrugged.

"Spa day?" Lulu responded. "Last spa day, Zel was busy."

"Oh! Spa day!" Mikau exclaimed, dancing around. "Are you going to take bubble baths?"

"Maybe."

"Can I come too?" Mikau eagerly implored Lulu, who shook her head and looked away, sighing at her boyfriend's idiocy.

"No," replied Malon, passing him his amp cable. "Get playing or we'll be late to the masseuse parlor."

--

"I f-feel b-b-bad ab-bout-t yo-ou p-p-p-aying for m-me, Lu-u-lu," Zelda told her, her voice bouncing around as the skilled young woman banged on her bare back with fisted hands. "I m-m-mean, i-it's n-not-t-t l-lik-k-e it-t's ch-e-eap-p…"

"N-no w-wor-r-ries-s," Lulu replied. "M-m-mom-m's l-l-load-ded-d. B-b-besid-d-des, if I sp-p-pen-nt h-hal-l-lf as m-m-much a-as R-r-r-ru-t-o-o on st-t-uf-f l-like t-this, w-we'd-d d-do t-this ev-v-v-er-r-ry d-day."

"It's sick," Malon said as her own masseuse rubbed her back in hard circles. "Ruto goes on a designer shopping spree every.. what, three weeks or so?"

"Yeah," exhaled Lulu as her own masseuse switched to leisurely circles. "It's absolutely disgusting. Not like we're any poorer for it, though."

"So your mom was the lead singer in the Indigo Go-Go's?" Zelda asked, relaxing as her masseuse switched as well. "Weren't they some really cool Indie band that went on for years?"

"Yeah," Lulu replied. "My grandma sang in it in the forties, which was when it originated originally as a jazzy band, but when the Beatles came around in the fifties, the Go-Go's hopped on the band wagon and reformed. Then in the sixties, they were a big underground Indie sort of thing. They dispersed in the seventies, though. Mom was sick of it – she said that Grandma forced her to sing. Mom said she won't make me sing or do anything if I don't want to."

"That's really cool of her," Zelda commented. "My dad was Mr. Miserable. He didn't care about me at all. I'm glad I came here."

"Me too," agreed Malon. "Say, have you ever even met Lulu's mom?"

"Nope," replied Zelda.

"We'll have to rectify that," Lulu replied with a smirk. "You'll like her, I think…"

"She's nothing like Ruto," Malon added hastily seeing the skeptic look on Zelda's face.

"Ugh, god," grimaced Lulu. "I swear, Ruto's horrid. She's an alien, honestly. She's nothing like mom or me or dad."

"Maybe she takes after your grandma," Zelda offered.

All the girls cracked up at that.

_Meanwhile, let's see how our would-be stud muffin is doing…_

Link crouched on his knees, rolling swiftly and deftly to one side, entering the targeted area and looking desperately left and right. Good. He had not been seen.

He was in forbidden territory and he knew that he could get busted big-time if he were caught there – castrated, disemboweled, probably submitted to various torture methods like Chinese water treatment or being forced to listen to Barbara Streisand records. So he moved quietly and swiftly, knowing that his very life was at stake.

He must not be seen.

Carefully, he shut the door, turning the silver knob handle with the thick rubber gloves he'd managed to swipe from the security personnel downstairs. She had been a difficult adversary, but in the end, he had won. He always won.

After all, his name wasn't James Bond for nothing. Wait, that wasn't his name. But still.

Link stayed in his crouched position, looking around carefully as he slinked along the floor on his belly. It was clean – too clean. And there was nobody in sight, which spooked him even more.

_Where are the guards?_

Carefully, Link crept to the drawer he had pinpointed earlier and reached in, drawing out his objective – the scientific recordings of an unreadable mind. Carefully, quietly, he shut the drawer, being so quiet that he wouldn't even wake… well... anything. Feeling joyful that he had retrieved his objective, he turned to leave –

– and was met with a pair of evil, yellow eyes.

"Gah!" he cried, backing up a little as Valoo stared at him. Link pressed a finger to his lips, shushing the cat. "There could be spies."

Quietly, Link crept to the bathroom door and pushed it open, then entered, Valoo just behind him, and shut the door, locking it swiftly. He exhaled in relief, and sat down on the fluffy pink toilet cover to read, the scent of roses assailing his nose from the various bath and body products she kept in her lair.

"I'm the king," Link said to himself with a grin. "Project infiltration of Zelda's room equals total success. Now let's see what she's got written in this journal of hers…"

Link stripped off the blue rubber kitchen gloves he'd nicked when Impa had had her back turned and flipped the cover open, grinning as he began to read it and ignoring the cat rubbing against his ankles.

**_DO NOT READ_**, it said on the front page in hot pink, and below that, **_ESPECIALLY IF YOUR NAME IS LINK_**

He snickered. She knew him too well, didn't she? He turned the page, reading the first entry.

_July 5_

_ Approx. __noon___

_ Go me. I'm here at this new place and I've got no idea what I'm doing. Stupid of me to come? Of course. Even stupider of me to listen to my idiot father and take his word? Most definitely. But here I am and there's no way I can go home, so I'm stuck here and might as well make the best of it. Go me._

_ So I'm sitting out on the beach. Yes, I'm staying on the beach. But anyway, I'm hiding out on the beach and stuff because I really don't feel like being bothered. I mean, the family is nice and all, but… I dunno. I'll go ahead and write my first impressions of them…'_

"Blah blah, yadda yadda," grumbled Link as he scanned what she'd thought of Impa and Haft. Finally, he came to himself.

_Their oldest child, an adoptive son, is called Link and he seemed to be just about as odd in the head as I am. _To this, Link snickered. _He's kind of a jerk, though._

"Hey!"

_ But a hot jerk, I suppose. He's got these gorgeous, to DIE for blue eyes…_

"I do?"

_ And he's got this air about him that even though he acts all high and mighty he's not._

"When did I act high and mighty?"

_ He seemed to like all the music I had stored on my MP3 player, which is a good sign. After all, the quickest way to a man's heart is through his musical tastes (after his stomach, of course)._

"Damn straight!"

_But I don't like him like that. At least, I don't think I do, even though I have to share a room with him for the time being._

"Wha?"

_ And even if I do wind up falling for him, I don't think I'll act on it._

"Why not?"

--

"Because I live with him," Zelda explained to Lulu and Malon with a sigh as one of the workers rubbed soothing cocoa body butter over her bare skin as she sat in her swimsuit. "What if one of us was to be dumped?"

"It's a good point," agreed Lulu, lightly touching her shining blue hair, which was still wet with the intensive conditioning it'd been given. "That would be awkward."

"But why don't you just take a chance?" Malon asked, admiring her new manicure.

--

_I hate getting my heart broken. I hate having to endure the pain, and it usually takes a long while to fade. I wouldn't want to put myself through that sort of pain, so I won't fall for him and I won't go out with him._

"Life's no fun if you don't take risks," sighed Link as he patted Valoo's head. "But I understand where you're coming from."

--

"Then why can't you just leave it?"

"Because you two are so completely meant for each other," gushed Malon. Zelda couldn't see her through the slices of cucumber covering her eyes, and tried not to scratch at the odd green facial mask they'd applied to her.

"We're not meant for each other."

"Why do you say she's meant for him, Mal? Or that he's meant for her?" came Lulu's voice from Zelda's other side.

--

_It's all a coincidence anyway. I mean, me being sent here and having this drop dead gorgeous guy living in the same house as me really isn't a whim of fate. It's just… just coincidence._

"Drop dead gorgeous, eh?" Link was amused as he read on.

_ I don't believe in destiny and I don't believe I was sent here for any particular reason. Look at me, I've gotten so off track…_

--

"…so can we stop talking about this now?" Zelda was irritated, even in the luxurious white bath robe she was in as she soaked her feet in the wonderful warm water.

"Fine," sighed Malon wiggling her toes. "What other topics of conversation do we have?"

"It's almost October," offered Lulu. "Bree Hampton is having a Halloween costume party. Are you going to go?"

"I might," Malon said. "If Darm wants to come. And you?"

"It would be fun. What about you, Zel?"

"Maybe. If I can find a suitable costume, anyway."

"Hmm…" Lulu fell into a thoughtful silence, and Malon cast a wary eye over the bronzed beauty.

"What are you thinking?"

"Well," Lulu began, choosing her words carefully, "I think it would be really cool if we all went to the party. And Zelda could drag Link along, but the problem is that they would both need costumes…"

"Yes, that's an issue, as Link and Zelda are both unimaginative."

"How are we back on this topic?" Zelda was jittery.

"Zelda, do you and Link have any funny inside jokes or any nick names for each other?"

"Well, kind of," said Zelda with a shrug. "Princess and Mr. Hero."

"That is so sweet!" squealed Malon. "I wish Darmani would call me Princess."

"It's not a compliment," Zelda responded wryly. "I dragged him out shopping one day and he called me a spoiled princess because I made him carry my bags, and I told him he went all hero on me and had offered to do so."

"That's weird," commented Lulu. "No romantic connotations?"

"None whatsoever. Like I said."

Malon sighed, and Zelda could just see stars in her eyes. "Still." She clasped her hands together by her cheek, looking up at the painted ceiling of the spa. "I wish Darmani would call me Princess."

"You're too fiery to be a princess," snickered Lulu. "You look more like a cowgirl to me."

"And you look like a fish," Malon snapped back good-naturedly.

"Those could be our costumes, then," piped up Zelda. "I'll be a princess, Mal can be a cowgirl, Lulu can be a fish…"

"A sexy fish," interjected Lulu, glowering at Malon.

"What about our dates?"

"Mikau can be a fish with you," offered Zelda.

Malon scowled. "Darmani looks more like a rock than a cowboy, though."

"So make him go as a rock. I'm sure it would crack people up."

"And Link can go as a hero," Lulu finished.

Malon grinned dreamily. "Yum. You've got yourself a good man there, Zel."

"He's not my man."

"But you wish he was," commented Lulu, reading the expressions on Zelda's face clearly.

--

"I wish I was," Link sighed as he tucked Zelda's journal back into its drawer and crept out of her room, the last entry he'd read ringing through his ears.

_ September 17_

_10:31 PM___

_ Went out with Mal and Lulu today and got stuff for homecoming. They kept teasing me about Link and how much he'd like the dress I got but I told them to shut up because we're not like that, and I know we're not like that and he knows we're not like that, so why can't the rest of the world acknowledge that too? I mean, we live together, for Goddesses' sake, but it's not like we'd actually do anything, and there's no way I'd ever make him my " man", because too many things could go wrong too easily. So even if a little lonely part of me might want that, Link and I won't be like that. I've sworn to myself not to see him as boyfriend criteria and so far, I'm doing okay. But ugh, now I'm all frustrated and stuff and I don't know why. I think I'm going to read for a bit, then go to sleep. Bye._

"I wish we were like that."


	11. More than words

**Eleven: More than words**

"What if I were a cow?"

"You'd be a sexy cow." Malon grinned and pushed a stray strand behind her ear as they sat together at lunch two days later. Zelda bit into her peanut butter and jelly sandwich, idly watching the banter. Lulu was trying to get Malon to say that she was unappealing, and Malon always countered with the fact that Lulu could put most models to shame and would be a very good looking animal. Zelda wondered a little if Malon had a little bisexuality in her genes, but shrugged. At least she always gave honest opinions.

Lulu tapped her lunch tray with her spork, thinking. "An ostrich?"****

Malon smiled at Lulu, a lopsided grin as she came up with a comeback. "You'd have very long legs."This sent the three girls into peals of laughter so loud that they did not notice when two shadows appeared over their table.

"Let me guess," rumbled Darmani wryly. "This is a female inside joke I'm not allowed to know about?"

"Good guess," replied Malon, patting the seat next to her. "Now sit." Darmani plopped down next to Malon, lunch tray in hand, and Mikau slid gracefully into the seat by Lulu. Zelda felt a moment's jealousy but shrugged it off. Mikau had been Lulu's long before she had come along, and besides: no dating inside the band. Zelda watched in distracted amusement as Darmani picked up two straws and drummed on the table as he looked around. When his back was turned, Malon stole a bite of his pizza.

"So, Zelda," Mikau asked through a mouthful of hamburger (which Lulu delicately wrinkled her nose at, as she was a vegetarian), "What class is next cursed with your presence?"

"Comp sci," Zelda said, ignoring the involuntary clench in her stomach. Comp sci was fun, but the incident that had happened last time still had her creeped out…

"Hn?" Malon swiveled around to face Zelda, squinting.

Not good…

"Bathroom break," Malon declared, standing up from the table and smoothing her denim skirt. She practically dragged Zelda out of her seat, and Lulu obediently followed, perfect curtain of blue-black hair swirling around her as she quietly walked behind Malon and a bewildered (and slightly apprehensive) Zelda.

"'Kay, girl," said Malon once they were safely inside the ladies' room. "Spill."

"Spill what?"

"Girl," squawked Malon, "you were all smiling and then at mention of comp sci you stopped being happy and got this creeped-out look. So spill. What happened?"

"Nothing happened," Zelda said, trying to turn and leave the bathroom.

"Zelda, we're your friends," Lulu piped up. "You can tell us anything. Honest."

"Well…" Zelda looked around the bathroom, checking that they were alone, and then leaned against the door so that nobody would be able to open it.

And then she told them everything.

By the time she was done, there were equal expressions of shock on both young women's faces.

"And you didn't tell Link?"

"No," Zelda murmured, sliding down to her knees.

"Well, why not?" Malon cried.

"I… I don't know!" Zelda flung her hands up in the air, then burying her face between her knees in distress. "I didn't want him to freak out or worry or anything. I mean you know Link..."

"We know him a little," Lulu said softly.

"But point is, you both probably realize how badly he'd flip, and I just didn't want that…"

"Are you going to tell your teacher?" Lulu sat down next to Zelda, flicking her hair over her shoulder and slipping an arm around Zelda.

"No... I'll deal with it on my own." She pulled her head up and sighed, shaking her locks around her face and wiping at the corners of her eyes. "I'll get through it."

"Of course you will, sweetie." Lulu gave Zelda another squeeze and stood up, casting a silencing glare at Malon. She held out a hand and helped Zelda to her feet, for which Zelda thanked her.

"I think we'd better be getting back to lunch now," Zelda told them, shaking out her limbs and putting on a happy face, surprising both young women. They looked to one another behind Zelda's back but said nothing.

After all, with her past, maybe she was used to locking her troubles away and smiling.

The three walked back into the cafeteria and sat down at their circular table just as Mikau and Darmani were in the middle of a debate about what it was that girls REALLY did in the bathroom.

"Practice kissing?"

"Compare boob sizes?"

"Switch bras?"

"Excuse us, gentlemen," Malon said delicately, sitting down next to the two blushing young men. "But I'll have you know that that is not what we do in the ladies' room."

"Then what DO you do?" Mikau leaned forward on his elbows, earning him a smack on the head from Lulu.

Malon winked. "Not for you to know, buster."

Zelda laughed lightly and plopped down on Malon's left, resuming eating where she left off, on her granola bar.

"Oh, yeah, Zel." Darmani leaned over Malon to look at her, "this dude came by the table wanting to talk to you."

"Do you know who it was?" she asked after swallowing her bite.

"Don't know."

"What did he look like?"

Mikau jumped in. "I didn't like him much, but Malon would think him hot."

"Why?" Zelda took no notice of Malon's glare to Mikau.

"The real preppy-punk type, it seems. He was all decked out in skater gear, spiky bleached hair, beach tan… I've seen him around but I can never remember his name. Kyle… Karl… Ken…"

"Hm."

"Anyway, he said it was no big deal," Darmani continued. "Said he'd catch you later."

"Hmmm…" Zelda tried to take another bite of her granola bar, only to miss and realize that she had already devoured it all. Shrugging, she dropped the wrapper into her brown paper bag and pulled out her bottle of Sunny D.

"That's strange. Does he sound like anyone you know?" Lulu looked across the table at Zelda, allowing Mikau to play with her fingers idly as she conversed.

"No." Zelda shrugged, drinking up the rest of her Sunny D in a quick gulp, and then stretching. "I'm still hungry. I'm going to go get something else to eat."

"Want us to come with?" Malon asked, but Zelda shook her head.

"No. I'm just going to drop by a vending machine and get some pop tarts or something." Zelda reached into her backpack for money and dug for a few quarters, and then, satisfied, withdrew her hand and turned, sauntering out of the cafeteria and into the court yard to the vending machines outside of the building. Lost in thought, she pushed the quarters into the money slot and punched in "E5," watching as the spring uncoiled just a little so that her s'more pop tarts fell into the bottom of the machine and her change clinked into the coin return slot. Zelda stooped down and retrieved her money and pop tarts, and walked back to the cafeteria, thinking deeply.

_"…Khail away…"_

_ "…know Khail…"_

Zelda shook her head, trying to jar the memories. Traces of a faraway conversation were floating to her from somewhere deep and buried, somewhere long ago and foggy… had she been drunk, maybe? Who had that been? Did she even know someone named Khail?

Shaking it off, she decided it had been an odd dream and threw it from her mind, instead wondering who the mystery boy who had been trying to see her was. Hm…

By the time she got back, Malon was giving her a fake-glower. "Took you long enough," she sniped haughtily.

"Huh?" Zelda asked, not picking up on the joke. "I was only gone for like a minute."

Lulu smiled, Mikau and Darmani cracked up, and Malon sighed, rolling her eyes. "It was a joke, silly," proclaimed the redhead.

"Suure."

The lights flashed once in the cafeteria, signaling that lunch was over. Zelda stood, swinging her bag over her shoulders, and walked out of the cafeteria sandwiched behind Mikau and in front of Malon, who was chattering away avidly to Lulu.

"I'll see you guys later," Zelda replied once they were out of the crowd and into the courtyard, each going their different ways.

Lulu waved. "Bye, Zel."

Zelda pushed her fears and thoughts to the back of her mind, determined to look upon every class as a new java application to be written, or something stupid like that.

Sigh. Three forty seemed so far away.

At precisely three forty and ten seconds, Zelda was doing her very best not to dash down the hall way. She wanted away, and she wanted away now – she wanted to grab Link by the hand and just run away and have him keep her safe because she knew he would, but she was stronger than that and she knew that if she showed whoever it was fear, it would only encourage them.

Still, though, it was exceedingly difficult not to run around like a headless chicken, freaking out until she felt a little better. Zelda decided that once she got back to the house, she'd run around like a headless chicken to her heart's content. _But for now, just walk_.

Zelda found herself waiting calmly by the entryway for Link, and inwardly congratulated herself on her grand acting skills. "I should get a friggin' Oscar or something," she mumbled to herself, trying to forget what had happened…

** Why'd you shut down on me last time?**

_ Why do you keep talking to me?_

** I'm fascinated by you. I want to know more.**

_ So you stalk me? Real smooth. Get off my computer, will you?_

** I don't know if stalk is the right word. Admire, adore, lust after, dream about… though I do know everything about you, Zelda. Everything.**

The teacher moved down the aisle, and, shivering, Zelda pulled up her java application. "Oh no," she mumbled to herself, looking at the code. "I'm not half as done as I should be…" She closed her eyes in frustration for a moment, and then opened them again, sighing.

"How's it coming, Zelda?" She turned to find herself looking at her teacher, and she smiled sweetly.

"I think I'm getting it. I'm just having a little trouble with some of the prompts is all."

"Your work in this class previously has been exemplary," complimented the thirty-something year old Mr. Henori. "Keep it up."

"Yes, sir." Zelda turned back to her screen, working, until she'd seen him leave her peripheral vision. She quickly pulled up command prompt in which her stalker was talking, and read.

** Ha ha ha ha ha.**

_ You nearly got me into trouble. Can't you just leave me alone, you horrible pervert?_

** No. And I know you don't want to be left alone, Zelda. I never see you without company. I could be with you, protect you from the bad monsters in the dark that you so fear.**

Zelda tried not to jump. God, this was just getting creepier and creepier.

** I can see you're frightened. Don't be, Zelda. After all, this is true love.**

_ This isn't love, you sick bastard._

** But you admit you have something for me.**

_ Nothing but contempt._

** Contempt and fear. Fear is love, Zelda. Realize it. Admit it. You love me. You love the way I frighten you. You love the way you fear me at night, wondering if some day, I'll sneak into your room under the cover of shadows…**

Zelda sighed in frustration, raking her hands through her hair and glancing around.

_ Don't you have work to be doing?_

** I already finished the program. Do you want me to send it across to you?**

_ No. Now go away. I can do my own work._

** Have it your way, Princess. But don't forget- just because I'm not speaking doesn't mean I'm not watching you…**

Zelda closed command prompt and continued working on her application, trying to shake the shivers running up and down her spine….

"You in there?" Zelda's eyes snapped open as she found Link curiously waving his hand in front of her face. "Yo, Zelda?"

She leapt back, surprised and still out of it from trying to lose the memory. "Don't touch me!" she hissed, clutching to part of the large archway behind her. She put her hand over her heart, breathing in deeply for a moment, trying to calm herself, and then smiled wearily at a shocked Link.

"Sorry," she apologized. "I just… I thought you were… sorry."

"Thought I was what?" Link asked, eyeing Zelda with concern.

"Nothing. Sorry. Come on – we gotta catch the train."

"Mmhm." Link fell into step next to Zelda as she made her way down the sidewalk, trying to compose herself and appear as calm as possible. However, she couldn't stop herself looking around every once in a while, occasionally reaching to touch the folded piece of paper in her pocket. She didn't think she'd ever been more relieved to see the train when she arrived at the station, and it was all she could do not to take Link by the hand and drag him in.

Show no fear.

_"…fear is love, Zelda…"_

Zelda stepped into the empty carriage, pausing for a moment to watch as the two or three other students that took the train boarded into their own "claimed" carriages for a moment. Seeing nobody following her, she turned around and walked the rest of the way in, Link just behind her, threw her bag on the floor, and sank down to lie in the middle of the crummy carpeting, eagle spread and thanking her lucky stars as the doors whirled shut.

"So, are you going to tell me?" Link was sitting sprawled across three of the crappy plastic seats, and though his voice startled Zelda slightly, she did not show it, and instead reveled in the comfort it brought.

"Tell you what? I just had a bad day." Zelda kicked upwards, wishing she could put her foot through the ceiling, and then rolled on her side, curling into the fetal position and facing away from Link.

"You seemed pretty happy at lunch," Link commented. "So I'm just supposing that whatever it was that made you day bad happened in comp sci, and this isn't the first time you've been all spooked after that class. Are you going to tell me?"

Zelda exhaled in a whoosh, burying her head in her knees. Finally, she sighed, a muffled "no" through a denim veil.

Link sighed as well. "I didn't think so. Don't you trust me?"

"I trust you." Zelda sat up and faced him, propping herself up with her arms. "I just don't trust your responses. And besides, it's nothing important enough to concern you. Just a little – a girl thing, I guess."

"If it's important enough to concern you, then it's more than important enough to concern me." Link's gaze was a sparkling, beautiful, penetrating, blue filled with emotions Zelda was sure she'd never seen before – especially not directed at her. Confused, she looked away, angry at his ability to make her feel so strange with that one look. _Damn him!_

Something rose up from memory, something from a night long ago…

_"Whad'ja wish for?" Link asked, curious._

_ "Nothing important," Zelda said dismissively._

_ "If it's important enough for you to wish for, then I think it is," Link said to her but asked no more, walking down the small incline to the porch._

"You look like you could use a hug," Link commented, and Zelda jumped again, edging away from him before she realized that it was only Link and she had spaced out again.

"Sorry," she mumbled, looking at the carpet so she wouldn't have to see his hurt face. "I didn't mean to…" her hand lightly strayed to her pocket once more, but she jerked her fingers back before they even touched the cloth. Link noticed.

"You're afraid and you won't even tell me what's wrong?" He moved closer to her again, and it was all she could do not to run to the other side of the carriage. She couldn't make him hurt. She couldn't make him upset. She couldn't keep in the dark. She couldn't tell him. "What's in your pocket?"

"I told you." Her voice was wavering now and she turned her back on him, facing the far door and watching the blue sky out the windows. "It's nothing important."

"It is if it's making you afraid of me."

"Afr… of you?" Zelda whirled, meeting his hurt blue eyes with her own shocked violet ones. "Is that what you thought? It's not what you think. It's just that… there's this…"

"Guy?" Why did he look so gloomy?

"Yes," Zelda said in an exhale. "And he…"

"Asked you out?"

"No… well, not really."

"What do you mean, not really?" His voice was dull and she looked at him, trying to read his face. He'd veiled his eyes and his features – she could see that.

"He's…" Zelda sighed, groping for the right words. "I don't know him at all, but he seems to know everything about me. Everything. And…"

She found herself cut off by Link's harsh laugh, more of a bark. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I didn't want you… I didn't want you to be upset."

"I see." Link stood and turned away, looking out the windows with his hands jammed into his pockets. Zelda felt a strong urge to go to him, to hug him and let him hug her and tell him all of the details, but she knew she had to be strong. Why did he look so broken, though?

"Goddesses, Link!" She found herself using an old curse she'd heard from many people (though when she asked, they never knew the origin). "You're upset, I knew it! But I didn't want you to be, so I didn't tell you."

"You should have told me right off the bat." He was angry, she could hear it in his voice. "I mean, why not?" He gave a harsh laugh, shaking his head. "We're close, aren't we?"

"Yes…" Zelda said, drawing herself up into a ball once more. "But… I'm scared, Link."

"You don't have to be scared of me. Not now, not ever. Not for anybody."

Zelda was shocked. Her voice came out a whisper, soft against the hum of the train over the rails. "It's not you I'm scared of. It's… it's him."

"Him?" He turned to face her, and had she been looking at him, she would have seen the surprise evident on his features. "Why?"

"He… he says things to me. He watches me. I've never even spoken directly to him and I don't know who he is but he … and…" Zelda's voice cracked, and she quickly broke down into racking sobs. Link was at her side instantly, arms around her as he held her tightly, whispering in her ear that he was sorry, so sorry, and that everything would be fine.

Zelda clung to him as her tears dampened the shoulder of his t-shirt.

"You said you've never directly spoken to him?" Link asked quietly once she'd calmed down a little, still holding her close.

"Yeah." Zelda sniffed a little, Link's unique sweet scent, soap and the spring-meadow laundry detergent Impa used on his clothes filling her nostrils.

"What did you mean? Has he been calling your cell?"

"No." Zelda pulled back from a little, enough to be able to look up into his face from where they were sitting together on the floor. "He hacks my computer and puts notes in my locker. Look, here's one." Zelda reached into her pocket tentatively and handed Link the folded slip of loose-leaf-paper that had been sloppily torn out of a binder, and written in nearly illegible handwriting.

Something unreadable crossed Link's features, darkening them for a moment. "I see." He folded the note open and began to read, and Zelda felt guilt and fear resounding within her as he read the words, the words that had burned themselves into her memory, words describing just what he wanted to do to her and how much he loved her, how he knew she loved him…

All of a sudden, Link let out a yell and ripped the paper in two, looking positively furious.

"You're not mad at me, are you?" Zelda squeaked. Link looked down at her, and at once, his expression softened, all trace of the frightening giant from moments before gone.

"No, no," he said gently, gathering her into his arms once more and hugging her. "I'm not mad at you. But I think I can help you, okay?"

"Oh, please, Link," Zelda begged, clutching his shirt and looking up at him with lightly-watering eyes. "Don't do anything stupid…"

"I won't," he said, rubbing her back soothingly as she leaned forward again to rest her forehead on his shoulder. "I promise."

Just then, the train began to slow, a "ding-dong" sounding over the intercom. Zelda sighed and stood, Link next to her, and hoisted her backpack onto her back, teetering unstably to the doors as the train wound to a stop. Zelda wiped her eyes on the back of her soft gray sleeve for a moment, and then smiled up at Link as he took his place next to her, his weight lightly brushing against hers.

"Please, Zelda," he implored her as the doors slid open and they stepped off the train, ignoring the people departing from the other carriages as they made their way out of the station. "Don't ever be afraid to tell me anything, no matter the reason. You can trust me no matter what, and I'll always be here for you, okay?"

"Okay." Zelda smiled lightly and gripped his hand for a moment, before releasing and walking a little ahead.

And, had she had eyes in the back of her head, she would have seen Link look at his hand for a moment in fascination before looking to her, a slow smile spreading across his face saying more than words ever could.


	12. A twisted game of dress up

**One-two : a twisted game of dress up**

"What the HELL am I even doing?" Zelda was twiddling her thumbs in the back of Lulu's mom's limo, looking nervously at her two friends.

Malon tore her gaze away from the TV, a flute of "boozeless-booze" in her hand as she reveled in the luxury. "Going out for the day with your two best friends to make yourself a glam girl for the upcoming night, of course. Er, you did invite him, didn't you?"

It had been three weeks since Zelda's last traumatic encounter, and sure enough, Link had quietly and efficiently put a stop to the strange stalker. Zelda could feel a little chill in comp sci sometimes, but trusted Link and his ability to uphold his promises.

"I invited him," grumbled Zelda, looking out the window. Limousines always made her uncomfortable – they reminded her of her father.

"As a friend?" Lulu asked, inspecting a chink in her perfect French manicure. "Or as something more?"

"Friends, of course." Zelda turned beet red, wanting to melt into the expensive black leather seats. "I already explained to you about the whole more-than-friends thing."

"I agree," Lulu said, and then looked up at Zelda, an unusually canine grin spreading across her normally composed and elegant face. "Doesn't mean it wouldn't be a great opportunity for sex, though."

"Lulu!" Zelda gasped, and then covered her face. "I can't believe you just SAID that!"

"Even good girls have their bad sides." Malon nodded seriously, though the shadow of a grin was present as she looked across the limo at Lulu. "And come on. You know it's true…"

"Well true as it may be…" Zelda turned, if possible, even redder, "it doesn't mean I actually would… even if I wanted to… which I don't…"

"Suuuure," Malon and Lulu chorused together.

"Anyway, moving on," Zelda said, clearing her throat. "Can we clarify the plans? I'm still a little… yeah."

"We're going to be at this spa place until four," Lulu informed Zelda, putting the TV on mute.

Malon smiled. "They'll get us all nice and ready. Makeup, hair, everything,"

"– and my mom is footing the bill."

"The limo is coming around 4:10 or so,"

"– to take us back to my place to get dressed –"

"– and then it'll go and pick up the boys – "

"– and come back for us."

"We'll go out to eat at a nice, outdoor French café, which the boys are paying for," Malon continued, and turned, allowing Lulu to finish.

"And the limo will come back to get us and take us to the dance when it starts at six. At midnight, it'll come to pick us up and take us each home."

"I think I caught all that," Zelda said, looking between Malon and Lulu. The latter was unusually bubbly and outgoing today, a characteristic that threw Zelda off, but she supposed the beautiful girl was just excited.

"Good." Malon nodded, and then hitched her purse up on her shoulders. "Because here we are."

The limo pulled to a halt and the chauffeur came around to open the door for the trio, and Zelda was instantly met with workers ushering her down a red carpet into a_ very_ expensive looking spa. It reminded her of when she was younger and her father had taken a particular girlfriend that Zelda quite liked – a pretty young woman by the name of Tetra who was like a second mother to Zelda – took Zelda places to have fun no matter the cost, spent time with her, cared for her and loved her.

Zelda had been devastated when her father had dumped her.

Malon's low whistle as she looked around jerked Zelda from her memories, and she quickly yanked her attention back to the present.

"This place is pretty snazzy," stated the redhead as she looked around the obviously expensive, height-of-fashion interior. Lulu gave a giggle, and Zelda cracked a wide grin.

"Thank you, captain obvious," teased the blonde as she plopped down in an expensive white leather chair.

"Don't mention it." Malon grinned and sat down as well, picking up a magazine from the table and flipping through it. Lulu sat down as well, but they did not have to wait long before the receptionist at the expensive glass-topped desk looked up from her computer and smiled.

"Miss Bay? The staff is ready for you."

When Zelda stepped out of Lulu's mansion, she was quite sure that she had never been primped, pinched, tucked, powdered, snipped, sprayed, and blow dried so much in her entire life. The discomfort of her hair in its exquisite knot, combined with the sparkling makeup painted onto her face to match the wine-colored dress, and the corset-like undergarment that Malon had shoved her into made the whole situation almost intolerable.

It was worth it, though, Zelda had thought as she had admired herself in a mirror. She looked _good_.

"I still can't believe how well you turned out, Zelda," Lulu had commented from her elaborate blue and green dress that looked like sea foam as they waited in the foyer for the boys and the limo. "I mean, not to insult you or anything, but you normally are kind of grungy and you look, well…"

"Steamingly sexy," Malon finished, scratching her beautifully waxed leg. "Link's going to drool when he sees you."

And drool he had when he stepped in the door and saw her sitting comfortably on a lush couch, her wine dress flowing around her fluidly. Her eyes had been shadowed sparkly pink, her lips painted a plush red, and she couldn't help but feeling her cheeks heat as he eyed her up and down. To one side, Malon had giggled lightly, but whether or not it had been at Link's reaction to Zelda or Darmani's reaction to herself, she was unsure.

"You look good, Zelda," Mikau commented with a smile, before turning to Lulu and kissing her lightly on the cheek and whispering something in her ear that had made her giggle. Darmani had slipped his arm around Malon's waist, and now here they were, walking from the house to the limo with Malon and Lulu and their boyfriends in front, and Zelda and Link walking awkwardly behind.

Link cleared his throat. "So."

"So."

"You look nice," he said, shooting her a glance out of the corner of his eye. Zelda turned her head and smiled, taking him in in his nice dress shirt and dress pants. Oddly enough, he wasn't wearing green, but a deep red that went rather well with her own dress. The tie at his neck was black and shiny, but for all his nice appearance, his hair was still wild. It looked good, though. Very good.

"You look nice yourself." She smiled at him again, and this time he turned and met her eyes, smiling as well.

For a second they just stood there, eyes and souls connected, but a loud squawk from Malon at something Darmani had said jerked them out of their trance. Link smiled abashedly, looking ahead.

"Guess we'd better catch up with them."

Zelda smiled as well, and could almost feel the makeup on her face cracking from all of the expanding and contracting it was being forced to do. "Yeah," she said. "Guess so."

_ Sunday, October 7_

_12:40 AM___

_ I just got home from the dance. You'd never believe how much fun it was – but it was kind of strange, too._

_ Anyway, after I left off about the spa and whatnot, the limo came to get us – boys in tow. Link looked… well… really, really bloody sexy. Argh, I can't believe I just wrote that. But it's true! I mean, he cleans up nicely. Really nicely. Not that he's not hot normally, but…_

_ What am I saying? This is LINK. Ugh, I've been awake too long. But anyway, dinner._

_ We went to this really nice outdoor café with a view of the sea – it was French, and just so romantic. It would be a good place for a date, but it was so expensive. I felt kind of bad for the guys, because they foot the bill… they didn't seem to mind, though. Link stared at me the whole time, which was kind of weird, and Lulu and Mikau were a little lovey, but other than that all was okay. Oh, and there was this one really funny part where Link went and got a straw all wrapped up in paper, tore off the top, and blew the wrapper at Darmani. I couldn't believe him! I mean, we were in this really classy restaurant and here he is acting like a three year old in McDonald's. But he only did it once, thank God. Other than that, dinner wasn't very incidental._

_ On the car ride up to the hotel where the dance was held, we all watched _Starsky and Hutch_, can you believe it? The ride wasn't too long – fifteen minutes, maybe, but still. It was really fun, especially because I didn't have to struggle to make conversation. It's weird – I normally don't have to struggle to make conversations, but maybe that's what insanely tight undergarments will do to a girl._

_ We got to the dance, but just outside, Link pulled me back and fished something out of his pocket – a corsage! It was a red rose and so pretty, and it matched my dress perfectly. I asked him how he knew and he shrugged, saying something about Jayda. He tied the corsage to my wrist and then we went in and it was almost like we were… what am I thinking? Just scratch that last thought._

_ Malon and Mikau staked us out a table, then went to dance with Lulu and Darmani, and of course, the first thing Link does is wander away to the food table. Honestly, we'd just eaten dinner, but here he was getting a plate of cheese and crackers, and he even filled up a glass of chocolate syrup that he poured on some strawberries for me. At first, we just sat around, talking and munching._

_ Then a slow song came up, and I was about to ask Link some stupid question or other about his favorite TV show when he suddenly blurted out "Do you want to dance?" Well, of course, I said yes, and so he took me by the hand and led me to the floor…_

_ It was strange. I've never slow danced – really slow danced with a guy before. It was really nice, though… and… I'm not even going to go into it, because I'm living with Link and shouldn't think of him like this._

_ Anyway, we went back and sat down and a few of Link's friends wandered over and talked to us for a bit, and then this one guy showed up- his name was Khail, and he was decent in the looks department. Anyway, Link got all mad when he saw him, I don't know why, but Khail asked me to dance so even though Link was glaring at me, I said yes. And it was nice- I kind of maybe like Khail, I think, but… Link… blah._

_ After I danced with Khail, Link grabbed me by the wrist, furiously stating that we needed to talk. So he dragged me outside the ballroom into the sort of waiting reception area thing and pulled me into a corner- and he was really mad. Really mad. He told me to stay away from Khail, that he was bad news, and of course I got mad because he was being a total ass about it. When I asked Link about why I should stay away from Khail, he turned all red and said "I can't tell you, but it's not safe, Zelda. Don't go near him." I mean, how cocky is that? He treated me like I was a total… just… ugh! I mean, I suppose that maybe I should listen to him because Link usually has a good reason for what he says and does, but I hate how he treats me as stupid sometimes. I mean, Khail seemed really nice… but yeah. Maybe I should listen to him. I don't know._

_ Anyways, Link made me so mad that I wound up crying and running into the bathroom, to my infinite shame. Malon and Lulu, who saw the whole thing, came to comfort me, along with some other girls, and even Nabooru, my gym teacher, who was "keeping the peace" or something. Anyway, Malon totally defended me but Lulu said that she was sure he had his reasons… and I agree now but earlier I had to try not to snap her head off for that. Oops._

_ They helped me get cleaned up, and then I went back into the ballroom and danced with random people. I had fun, but I was still mad, so when Khail asked me to dance some more, I said yes. We danced for a while longer, then he took me away to a table and we sat down and talked for a bi – it turns out that we have a lot of the same interests. _

_ Anyway, around __11:30__, Sheep showed up looking pissed, and Khail told me he had to go but that he'd like to see me more. I wonder if he likes me… because I kind of like him, but Link said to say away from him. Plus, there was something in the way that Khail was looking at me that I didn't like, so I suppose I'll be taking Link's advice._

_ In other news, after Khail left, Link came over and sat down and apologized and said that he trusted me and was just concerned for me, and that he knows I have good judgment and please would I not be angry at him? So I forgave him, and we danced the last dance together. Then we left and got in the limo and everybody seemed to understand we'd made up, and even though it was quiet it wasn't awkward so – we girls used the men as pillows, and it was really nice and stuff._

_ Anyway, I'm home now. I'm probably going to pull on my pajamas and go to bed. I'm exhausted._

_ G'night._

Zelda snapped her journal shut and dropped it into a drawer on her bedside table, yawning and stretching and looking remorsefully at her red feet.

"Man," she mumbled, rubbing her toes. "Those shoes hurt."

A knock came at the door, accompanied by a male voice. "Zelda?"

Zelda yawned wide, putting a hand over her mouth. "Come in, Link." He stepped in and she could see that he'd pulled off his nice clothes and opted for homer Simpson's boxers and a white tank.

"You're still all fancy and stuff," he commented, eyeing her as he shut the door behind him.

"Yeah." Zelda looked remorsefully over her dead gown, fluffing the lightly wrinkled skirt around her. "I just finished writing in my journal. Anyway, what do you need?"

"I just wanted to apologize again…" He put his hands behind him and fidgeted, looking at the floor. Zelda smiled and stood up, walking to him (a deep part of her mind was annoyed at the little swishy noise her gown made as she moved), and she took his hands in hers.

"It's fine. I can't say that I understand completely, but I've forgiven you anyway."

"Thanks." They stood there for a moment, hands together, and then Link stepped back, smiling at her.

"You still look nice," he commented, and reached out, plucking at an elegant curl that had tumbled from its pin to drape across her shoulder. "I especially like the hair."

"Don't get used to it." Zelda gave a weary laugh, too tired even to swat away the hand that lingered by her collar bone.

"But I still like the grungy princess as much as the elegant one," teased Link.

Zelda put her hand to her heart, faking an air of offense. "I am not grungy! I am… oww." She misplaced her weight, causing her feet to hurt like the bloody devil, and swore.

"What'd you do to your feet?" Link asked, bemused, as he looked down.

"It's those horrid shoes Jayda made me buy," Zelda replied, hobbling to her bed and plopping down on the mattress. "I can't believe she talked me into wearing them. It feels like my feet are about to fall off…" Zelda trailed off, looking remorsefully at her red and swollen toes.

"I can give you a foot massage, if you'd like," Link offered, plopping down next to her.

"Honestly? That would be heavenly. Oh, but give me a second to get out of this horrible corset."

"You're in a corset?" Link raised one eyebrow, eyeing Zelda's form.

"Yeah. It's not like bone and lace and stuff, it's… you'll see. Just hang on a minute." Zelda stumbled pathetically into the bathroom, stripped off her gown and the spandex underclothes, and pulled on a pair of rubber ducky pajama shorts and a matching tank. She returned and tossed the corset-like object to Link, who eyed it cautiously.

"Ouch," he commented, pulling at the elastic.

"Yeah." Zelda sighed, shaking her head. "It pulls everything in."

"You don't need that," Link commented as he tossed the garment in offense into the bathroom. "You're fine just the way you are."

"Massage." Zelda changed the subject, though she didn't know why, patting Link's fuzzy head in gratitude as he took a place near her feet. "You really are the best."

"Don't you know it?" He took her feet carefully in his hands, beginning to rub, his hands gentle yet deft upon her sore toes.

"That feels really, really, really good," she mumbled as she felt her painfully sore muscles relax. "Where'd you learn to give massages?"

"Mom used to be a masseuse," Link commented idly. "She tutored me in 'the ways'."

"Heh, tutored," Zelda laughed. "Sounds like your last name."

"I suppose it does." There was quiet in the peanut gallery for a time, with Link's hands moving slowly higher – loosening the muscles in her lower legs, then just above her knees, when he stopped.

"You are a miracle worker," mumbled Zelda, sitting up and crawling over to Link to give him a hug. "You're even better than some of the people at those spas I go to with Lulu and Malon. Thank you so, so much."

"Not a problem." Link hugged her back, then slowly let go as she moved back a little.

"And I'm sorry about blowing up at you," she added, ashamed. Link grinned, shrugging.

"It's fine. I understand." He leaned back against the mountain of white pillows propped against the mahogany headboard, and Zelda surprised the both of them by laying her head on his knees. She relaxed as he began to run his hands through her hair, loosening the curls and removing the small army of bobby pins that guaranteed her the inability to pass through a metal detector.

By the time that Link had collected every last pin from her hair, she was asleep on his legs, dreaming of her hero.

"Good night, Princess," he mumbled, bending forward to kiss her on the forehead before trying to get up. However, just as he did, she rolled over just enough to pin him beneath her, and it seemed he had no choice. Carefully, he began to rearrange her so that he could stand, but as he did so, she reached out a pale arm and wrapped it around him, hands gripping the fabric of his shirt.

Sighing, Link resigned himself to having to spend the night with her, and hoped that he wouldn't be hurt too badly the next morning by her. He gathered her in his arms and fell asleep as well, and in their dreams of each other, both had smiles on their faces.


	13. Between the raindrops

**'Unlucky' Thirteen: The Gig**

She shifted.

Warm.

She slowly opened her eyes, taking in her bedroom. She was so warm, so comfy, and she'd just had the best sleep of her life. She yawned, burrowing deeper in the covers, and then stopped.

There was something warm and squishy wrapped around her stomach.

Stifling a scream, she peered over her shoulder, and, before she could help herself, she squawked.

Loud.

"ERRRRRRRRRRRAGH!" She clapped a hand over her mouth and squirmed away from the handsome young man whose beautiful blue eyes had shot open at the sound of her muffled shock. Still in surprise, he rolled straight off the other side of Zelda's bed, earning him a giggle despite herself.

"What are you doing here?" She peered over the edge of the bed at Link, who was lying cross-eyed in a tangle of sheets, very confused.

"What are YOU doing here? This is MY room," he mumbled into the soft white cotton.

"No, Link, this is MY room," Zelda contradicted, "and we're both still clothed, so I'm assuming we fell asleep on my bed. Is that right?"

"Um." He frowned and looked adorable, scratching his rumpled hair as he tried to remember. "I think so."

The night before came streaming back to both of them, sobering both up for a moment as they remembered. Finally, Link smiled wearily.

"I'm going to my room, gonna clean up and stuff..."

"I'll do the same."

Link stood, his white tank sliding sleekly along his smooth, firm muscles, causing Zelda to salivate. He sauntered attractively out, but as he closed the door, Zelda called out to him.

"Link?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you for forgiving me."

"Anything for you," he replied, his beautiful eyes unreadable, and as Zelda smiled at him, he closed the door and whispered to the wooden frame, "my princess."

---

"So, Halloween's, like, this Saturday, right? And so Bree told me her uncle, who was gonna deejay for the party, got arrested for dealing pot and now she's got no music."

It was lunch on Monday, and Mikau was gobbling up the attention of his fellow band members like the cheesy fries in front of him as he told his story. "Anywho, I told her that it blows, and she said yeah, and then asked if we could perform. I told her I'd tell her after class today. What say ye, oh merry members of Volvagia?"

"Our first real gig?" Zelda stole one of Mikau's cheesy fries, cramming it into her mouth and munching, looking upward in thought.

Darmani rumbled from his spot, cracking his thick knuckles and drumming on the table. "I'm up for it. I was gonna go to the party anyhow; now I'll be the main attraction."

"Two-thirds majority of the party rules to perform," Mikau announced, grinning. "Shall we make that three thirds, bass?"

"Make it three thirds," she said. "But I don't know how I'm gonna look playing bass in a princess outfit."

"Well dude, you're gonna be a glam hard-rockin' bass princess so it's all good anyhow. This is excellent." Mikau grabbed a marker and banged it on the table like a gavel, all the while grinning like a Cheshire cat. "Verily, it is formally decreed that the wonderful band named Volvagia shall have its first gig five days hence."

"Huzzah!" Zelda and Darmani cheered.

"And, therefore, we shall be needing many an after school practice to prepare, my devoted fellow musicians. Agreed?"

"Agreed!" Zelda and Darmani chimed, looking excited. As they conspired as to what music to play, Malon and Lulu showed up from their group-trip to the bathroom. Zelda, who was too lazy to yield to the demands of feminine sociality, had voted to stay behind with the trusty men of Volvagia.

"What're you scheming up now?" Malon asked, plopping down next to Darmani and flicking a prefect strand of red hair behind one shoulder.

"Gig at Bree's," Mikau replied, shooting a smile at Lulu as she slid graciously into her seat next to Mikau at the circular table. "We are now the main music attraction."

"Really?" Malon squealed, wrapping her arms around Darmani's torso. "That's so great!"

"Looks like quite the party. Might I join in?" Came a rumble behind Zelda. For a moment, her stomach did an unhappy flip-flop- what would Link say if she saw him here?

"Hi Khail," Lulu said quietly. "But this is secret- for members of Volvagia and their significant others only."

"Zelda and I are tight." Khail slid his bulk- muscle, more than anything, football muscle- into the chair next to Zelda, casually looping a freckled, sun-tanned arm of ownership around her shoulder. "Practically like that, right Zel? Which reminds me, Bree's having a Halloween party, what say you that we go together like the charmed couple we're meant to be?" His blond hair hung into his blue eyes, eyes that were calculating, nearly suffocating Zelda in their depths.

"Um." Zelda looked to Malon and Lulu for help, but both gave her nearly imperceptible shrugs. Taking a deep breath, Zelda steeled herself. For Link.

"I'm sorry, Khail, but I'm performing at the party, and the band comes first. And really, I don't know you, so I'm afraid that you and I can't be together like that. We're totally different. Now, if you'll please..." She looked up to say something, trying to apologize with her eyes, but what she saw stopped her heart beating.

Cold fury shone in his gray eyes; cold, dangerous, unreasonable anger. She wanted to scream, run away, but she refused to back down, so she took a deep gulp and continued. "Please take your arm off me. Maybe once we know one another a little more."

"Ah. Right." His words were cutting like ice and he stood. "I'll be seeing you, _Zelda._" And he was gone.

"That was kind of creepy," Malon said, and Lulu nodded.

"Want me to get 'im for you?" Darmani pounded a fist into his palm, rotating it as though smashing a bug.

"No, it's fine. I can take care of myself." Ignoring the shivers running down her spine, she allowed herself to be caught up in the conversation with her friends again. They would keep her safe.

---

It was Friday afternoon, and Zelda was _so_ ready. So ready meaning so not ready, of course. But she was going to kick but anyway. Not to be egotistical or anything, though.

Impa had finished both her and Link's costumes the night before, and now, Zelda was donning the beautiful pink gown, enjoying the feel of it on her skin. It truly was a gown fit for a princess. It was beautiful and ornamental, and she wondered where Impa had gotten some of the parts used in the gown- the gold, or perhaps faux-gold trinkets, the golden silk hanging over she shoulders, the golden earrings in the shape of three triangles and the tiara. Impa had told her, of course, that she'd found them at a flea market, but still. It was astounding.

Unfortunately, there was one problem- the costume was too good to belong to a bassist in a grunge band. So, grinning to herself, Zelda pulled a length of black ribbon out from one of her drawers and wrapped it all around her arms, furthering the decorations with black bangles, and then applied black eyeliner around her eyes- not too much, but just enough to make herself look good-gone-bad. Smirking, she tossed her cell phone and accessories into the front pocket of her gig bag, grabbed her guitar (Mikau was bringing their giant amp) and gracefully made her way down the stairs in the soft pink slippers that Impa had also found at the flea market.

"Lookin' good." Link gave a low wolf whistle from where he was sitting at the kitchen table, and for a moment, Zelda had to remind herself to breathe.

He was gorgeous- a fairy tale hero in chain metal, a green tunic, tan breeches and a white long-sleeved undershirt. He wore gauntlets, boots, and had a bow and fake arrows strapped across his back, as well as a sheathed sword at his side. Not to mention the green cap and the golden hoops hanging from the tips of two prosthetic elf-tips he had applied flawlessly to his ears.

He looked so yummy, Zelda thought, she could gobble him up right there.

"You don't look too bad yourself," she said, setting her bass carefully down and fidgeting with one black ribbon that wound itself up her right arm.

"You both look wonderful," buzzed Impa as she swept into the room, a brightly colored scarf tied around her head, completing her gypsy-style "costume". "I need a picture of you two."

"You taking the girls trick or treating, Mom?" Link looked up from where he was drumming on the table, yawning.

"Nah. Your father's taking them. I'm here to cater to the rabid masses. Up, up! I want a picture!"

Obediently, the two teens rose from the table and allowed themselves to be ushered outside by Impa to stand below a weeping willow not far from "the cliff". Zelda set her guitar on the porch, then allowed Impa to shove her into Link below the tree. His arm snaked around her shoulder, and she looped one of her own pink-gloved hands around his waist.

"Beautiful." Impa pulled out the digital camera and held it away from her face, peering into the screen. "Okay, I'm gonna take a few. Say cow pies!"

Flash. Flash. Flash.

It reminded Zelda of being with her father and his bodyguard as they'd been escorted amongst paparazzi looking for a good photo of the billionaire and his lovely young daughter. Zelda held her smile.

Flash. Flash.

"All done. Want to look?" Zelda and Link separated as Impa made her way over to them, then peered as one down to the camera where the smiling images of them were captured on that screen for eternity- eternity, of course, meaning however long Impa chose to leave them there.

"They're nice," said Zelda, studying the happy expressions on their faces. "We look nice."

"Yes, I thought so too." Impa seemed pleased with herself as she brushed a tendril of silken scarf over her shoulder, bangles clanging together. "When are you leaving, Zelda?"

"Umm..." Malon's black monstrosity turned the corner, and Zelda began to trot over to the porch. "Now. Link, are you coming with?"

"Nah," he replied. "Sheep's picking me up. I don't have to be there early, unlike the Volvagian princess."

"You're performing, I see," Impa noted as Malon pulled up the gravelly driveway and Zelda picked up her bass, her baby.

"Yup. First real gig. Ahhhh, wish me luck," she chittered, hugging Impa.

"Good luck, dear." Impa kissed Zelda on the forehead, and then released her.

"Good luck, Zel. See you at the party," Link called from below the tree.

"Thanks Impa, thanks Link." She smiled, nervousness just then kicking in, and then made her way over to Malon's big black H1, hopping in passenger and carefully sliding her baby into the seat behind her. Waving in excitement, she grinned as Malon pulled out.

"Mmm mm mm, Link does look scrumptious," she said. "Hot man, that one."

"Yeah," Zelda gazed dreamily at him for a moment, then shook her head. "But we live in the same house. It would be too weird. Like if we broke up or something. So he's off limits."

"I understand, but that doesn't mean I agree," said Malon with a nod as they drove down the pavement to Mikau's house. "Jeebus, the lots in this neighbor hood are so huge. There's only like three houses between you and Mikau but it still takes five minutes."

"People here are weird." Zelda shrugged, causing her outfit to tinkle, and, idly, she began to bat at a golden charm hanging off of the belt going around the middle of the dress.

Malon eyed Zelda up, and grinned. "Wicked costume. You look like a chinese emperor-cross-european princess gone bad."

"Impa made it." They pulled into Mikau's driveway, where two-thirds of Volvagia was leaning against a gigantic amp, panting.

"She's an awesome seamstress." Malon opened her door, leaving the keys in the ignition and hopped out of the hummer, and Zelda just then took in her costume- a tight, shiny black pleather cat suit, over which went a sequined red corset, also pleather.

"Daaaaamn." Darmani gave a low wolf whistle and nudged Mikau with an elbow. "Look at my woman."

"Nice costumes, ladies." Mikau really was a charmer.

"Where are your costumes?" Malon crossed her arms over her chest and eyed the two young men up, taking in their denim cargo shorts and white tanks.

"In Darmani's truck. We're changing at the party. Didn't want to deal with equipment in costumes. Let's get this amp loaded into Malon's car, Darm. The sooner we get there, the better."

"Right-o."

"Let's go open up the trunk, Zel," Malon said. "And put the seats down."

"Gotcha." The two young women ran ahead of the two grunting young men and opened up the trunk. Zelda pulled her bass out and allowed Malon to fold down the back seats, then stood back as, legs buckling under the stress, Mikau and Darmani did an odd crab walk up to the back of the H1 and pushed the large amp in. It barely fit. Panting, they leaned against it, Mikau pushing his sweaty onyx shag out of his eyes, Darmani flexing his muscles.

"Good job, gentlemen," Zelda said, pushing her bass on top of the amp. "How does it plug in?"

"Extension cord," grunted Darmani. "In my truck."

"Ah." Zelda shot a glance at Darmani's red truck, barely able to see the black coiled cable peeking lightly above the bed. "Anywho, let's get going. Do we have to pick up Lulu, Mal?"

"Yeah, but she's only about five minutes from Bree's so it won't be a problem."

"Excellent," said Mikau, looking sweaty in the damp, humid, sticky and hot October afternoon. "We'll meet you ladies at the party, then, to set up."

"Okie doke," chirruped Malon, hand resting lightly on a whip strapped to her side that Zelda hadn't noticed. "See y'all in a few minutes, boys."

"Bye guys," Zel added.

"Bye Mal, bye Zel," chimed the two young men out of sync as they slammed the trunk closed. Malon and Zelda climbed into the still-running car, and Malon threw the gears into drive and off they sped.

Lulu lived on the other side of town; rather, she was over by school, with Zelda at the very edge of the district and Malon somewhere close to Zelda but not close at the same time. The redhead and the blond made their way into the 'downtown 'of the small but ritzy planned-community, and then took an exit to get on the fast lane. Driving down the highway, they passed over the tracks of the train that Zelda normally took with Link to get to school, all the while chatting about nothing in particular.

"So, Zelda," Malon began, checking her rearview mirror then glancing over her shoulder as she changed lanes, "if you're not going to go out with Link, are you just going to not date? Because obviously, you've got feelings for him and that might get in the way of relationships."

"I'm going to date when I find the right guy," Zelda replied nonchalantly, sweeping a lightly-curling strand over her shoulder. "And Link and I- we're too different any way. I wouldn't let any emotions that I have for him get in the way. I live with him, for the moon's sake. We're close, but too close for something like that. Really, he's more like a stepbrother or a half cousin- might like him a little, but couldn't do anything. I'll just put it behind me when I find someone worthy of my attentions."

"Like Khail?" Malon snapped her gum.

"Khail's a little slimier by the light of day. I was just feeling lonely at the dance, I suppose."

"Mmmhmm."

Zelda's voice softened as she looked out the window, thinking. "You and Darmani are so happy together, and Mikau and Lulu are wonderful for one another. You all love one another so much... I just wish I had something like that."

"Oh, sweetie..." Malon removed one hand from the wheel long enough to pat Zelda on the shoulder, "you'll find someone eventually, I'm sure. Darmani and I used to hate one another, did you know? We were in the same biology class freshman year, and we'd always fight during labs. But he matured over the summer before sophomore year, and that was when Lulu moved in. She and Mikau started going out, like, right off the bat, and I was stuck with Darmani a lot, and I found out that he really wasn't quite so bad." Malon smiled, then shook her head as she exited the freeway. "You'd be surprised where love may find you."

"I suppose so." The topic shifted, and several minutes later, they pulled up in front of Lulu's house arguing over whether or not chickens could be lethal.

"My dad owns a ranch," Malon was arguing as the ascended the steps to Lulu's massive mansion, "and we go out there sometimes, and on the ranch there's this breed of chickens called cuckoos, and I swear they could kill a person. I provoked one when I was little- I didn't know what I was getting into- and they all came down on me pecking like hell and our ranch man, Ingo, had to run me into the stable and lock the door until they went away. I swear, they're deadly!"

"Hahaha, chickens that are deadly...." they knocked on the door, Malon glaring at Zelda without any real venom. Shortly, Lulu opened the door and both Malon and Zelda chirped loudly, "TRICK OR TREAT!"

"Hey guys," Lulu said, brushing a braid out of her face.

"Wow." Zelda looked at Lulu and grinned. "You look awesome. A pirate from that old crazy mythology that we're studying in history?"

"Yeah," replied the pretty girl, who had died her whole hair cherry-bomb red and put it up, the bright color making even Malon's sleek fire-engine locks look dull. Her costume was neon green; the top was sheer, translucent black sewn to neon green velvet that just covered her breasts and ended below them, exposing her tan, flat belly, and matching low-cut hip hip hugging harem pants, complete with neon green slippers, several jewels, neon green gauntlets and two fake scimitars. All in all, the effect was astounding. She looked just like the illustration in their textbook.

"You look hot," Malon said. "Mikau's gonna need to dump some ice water down his pants."

"You don't look to bad yourself," replied Lulu quietly, smiling as she shut the door behind her.

"What's Ruto dressing up as? I just know she's going to the party," Malon said as they walked to the car.

"Britney Spears." This sent the three girls into peals of laughter, but when they reached the hummer, Malon's laughter stopped short.

"Shoot," she said. "I don't know how we're gonna fit another person in, what with the ginormous amp in the back...."

"I'll sit in the back," Zelda offered. "I can squish, and it'll keep my bass safe."

"You sure?" Lulu asked, biting lightly at one neon green nail.

"Positive. It's only five minutes to Bree's anyway, right?"

"Right," affirmed Malon with a nod. "We're set, then. Let's get a move on." She slid into the front seat and turned the keys, Lulu sliding in beside her and Zelda climbing, slightly awkwardly, into the back to sit partly on the amp.

It was an uncomfortable five minutes for Zelda, but she didn't mind as Lulu joined in on the argument about deadly chickens. However, she was glad, albeit quite a bit nervous, when they reached Bree's.

Malon was opening up the trunk and Lulu was getting the door for Zelda when the panic fully hit.

"I can't do this, you guys."

"Of course you can," stated Malon, taking Zelda's bass from her as Lulu tried to pry the blond from out of the back seat. "Don't be silly. We've come to your jam sessions- you rule. There's no way that you can't do this."

"I can't do this."

"Yes you can. Get out of the car."

"But what if I mess up?"

"Zelda!" Lulu's voice shocked both young women into silence. "You can. You're a brilliant bassist and Volvagia's gonna skyrocket after this. Now come on- let's get you out of the car so the boys can get the amp out when they arrive.

Zelda gulped but allowed herself to be pulled from the back seat where she was squashed, and, shakily, she took her guitar from Malon.

"I'm going to die," she began to chant. "I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die..."

"Oh, just leave her," Malon said cheerfully to Lulu as the 'pirate' made a move to comfort the girl. "She'll get over it once she's on stage with bass in hand."

Just then, the boys in their red truck pulled up and Mikau leapt out from the passenger seat before the truck was even stopped, dashing over to Lulu to sweep her up in a kiss.

"You look delectable," Zelda heard him growl intimately in her ear, his words carrying a sensual undertone Zelda had hardly ever heard him use, but she didn't let this temporary distraction pry her from her mantra of death. Lulu gave a giggle, and swatted Mikau away.

"Get the amp out of the back, then calm Zelda down. I think she's about to go into cardiac arrest." Upon hearing Lulu's words, Mikau shot Zelda a curious glance.

"...going to die going to die..."

"Ah." He nodded twice, then flexed his sleek brown muscles. "No need to worry. We'll get everything set up, then calm down Zelda."

"...going to die going to die going to die...."

"What's wrong with Zelda?" Darmani asked, twirling a drumstick he'd produced from nowhere.

"Stage fright," Malon replied. "Now get that amp out of my hummer."

"Yes'm."

---

Bree Hampton was a pretty, preppy girl with tawny silken hair and a perfect manicure. She only-too-happily propped the front door open for Mikau and Darmani, then showed them to the temporary stage that had been set up for them, in the elevated living room. Much of the house had been cleared of nice furniture- Bree confessed to a nerve-wracked Zelda that she'd put the expensive stuff in climate controlled storage for the night before getting the poor girl a glass of water from the kitchen. Quietly, Zelda unpacked her bass and attached the strap and plugged it into the cable, then greedily drank down the water Bree offered her.

"Your parents know about this party, Bree?" Malon asked from where she was leaning against the wall.

"Yeah. They don't care. There's only two rules- no cops and no damage. Shouldn't be a problem, as my neighbors are out of town, and anybody who damages the house pays for it. I'm going to make that clear."

"Awesome," said Lulu, plugging the amp in. Darmani came in, set down the case containing his cymbals, and then left again.

"So, honestly Malon," Bree said in a low voice to the redhead, "these guys any good?"

"They're good," Malon replied with a nod. "Better than good. Everybody who comes to the party today is in for a real treat."

"I certainly hope so." Bree inspected her long, fake, French-manicured nails, and then grinned. "As if that amp isn't crucifying my electricity bills anyhow." The two girls laughed and, in the meantime, Lulu was attempting to calm down a slightly-hyperventilating Zelda.

"Don't worry, Zelda," she said, nodding at Mikau as he carried the last of the drums in and began to help Darmani unload them, "everything will be fine. I promise."

"I hope so. Oh, god, it's getting dark." Zelda looked out the windows, pallid. "They'll be here soon."

"Excellent. I wonder how many people are bringing kegs?" Bree was bouncing up and down in place with ill-contained excitement.

"Mmph." Malon shrugged, then turned, smiling at Zelda. "Things will be fine." She turned her gaze on Darmani and shook her head.

"Boys, costumes, then drums, okay?"

"Okay, okay," they said, and first Mikau and then Darmani, trudged out to the truck and appeared several minutes later with plastic bags, then walked to the bathroom to change.

Five minutes passed and Mikau came out in the most ridiculous getup Zelda had ever seen. She snickered, and Mikau looked himself up and down, grinning.

"Like it?" he asked, adjusting his movie star sunglasses. "I'm Sir Elton John."

Darmani emerged a few minutes later dressed a little less originally as a world war II solider, a fake festering wound attached to the front of his green army surplus uniform.

"Nice," said Malon, eyeing the wound and then looking grossed out. "A bit too realistic, though..."

Suddenly, the doorbell rang, and the door pounded in and in came a flood of students.

"Oh, god." Zelda went pale. "They're here."

"Get ready," Lulu called, pointing a lamp on the "stage". "It's show time."

---

She wasn't even going to try to count them. She saw Link somewhere in the colored, smoky mass of students in Halloween costumes- the crystalline blue of his eyes flashed out at her before somebody moved in the way. She gulped, clutching the neck of her bass a little harder, and looked at Mikau.

"Let's start," he said to her, then turned and relayed the message to Darmani. He adjusted his microphone and looked out over the crowd.

"Hey guy-" the microphone made a horrible squeaking noise, and Mikau jerked away from it, grinning in embarrassment.

"Sorry 'bout that, dudes. You ready to get this party started?"

A semi-large cheer went up, and Zelda wanted to kick Mikau. What was he doing? This wasn't an actual gig. Oh, what everybody must think…

"Excellent! This is my band- well our band- Volvagia. My name's Mikau, for those of you who don't know, and I will be taking care of vocals and lead guitar." He slammed out a quick, powerful riff, and then grinned again. "That's my man Darmani on drums." Darmani banged on the set, tossing his drumsticks in the air. "And the beautiful princess Zelda, singing backup vocals and playing on bass."

Before she knew what she was doing, she shredded a note high, then grinned at the small cheers that followed. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

"Let's get this started, then," said Mikau, adjusting the mike with his free hand. "Since everybody's not here yet, we're gonna start this out with a little song called 'Two'." He took a step back from the mike and prepared to play. Darmani tapped on the drum set, setting the tempo, and the house exploded with sound.

---

They'd been playing and singing for hours- by request, they'd played a few songs over again, such as Beyond Abilities, their 'single' as Mikau liked to call it. They were taking a small break- water break, more than anything, and Mikau's voice was getting hoarse.

"Zel," he croaked. "Do you wanna take over vocals for a bit? We can play 'Cry' and our Smashing Pumpkins cover."

"Are you sure?" She nervously pulled at the lowest string, the E string, plucking in time to the fizzy rock music that had been cranked up on the stereo to kill the time while Volvagia rested.

"Positive. My throat's killin' me. Wanna do?"

"Sure, I'll do it," she said, and gulped. "I just hope I don't mess up."

"You won't mess up," Mikau scolded. "Just release. Sing. You can do it- you've done it before."

"Yeah, but only in jam sessions."

"Relax."

"Let's do 'Raindrops Sunshowers' first," she said, twittering slightly. "Eek."

"Right then," Darmani boomed, flexing his muscles. "Let's do it. Somebody tell Bree to turn the music off."

"I will." Malon and Lulu had been silent, letting the band be the band, but both were grinning. The redhead (non-dyed redhead, that was) rushed off to find Bree, and several moments later, the music was cut.

"Hey guys," called Zelda from her mic. "Hope you don't mind, but as Mikau's throat's a little iffy, I'm gonna be singing a few songs for you." A cheer went up. Zelda smiled, taking a rattly breath. "The first song I'll be singing is called 'Raindrops Sunshowers' and it's by the Smashing Pumpkins.... anybody ever heard it?"

A few people cheered.

"I think you're gonna like it." She turned her head to look at Darmani, nodding to the beat she wanted to set, and he rapped it out on his drum. There was silence, and Zelda began to sing, Mikau playing an arpeggio on his guitar.

"Raaaaaaaain falls on everyone,"

"Everyone," echoed Mikau, and the music appeared- drums, bass, and full blown guitar.

"The same old rain  
And I'm just trying to walk with you  
Between the raindrops

I send my echo out  
To get your love without  
Obscured reflections of  
My love..."

The evening wore on.

---

It was nearly eleven by the time Volvagia left, even though the party was going to go on for several more hours. The band was just too exhausted to go on- both Mikau and Zelda were sung hoarse, and Darmani's arms were sore, an astounding feat considering the muscles the man possessed.

"Zelda!" Link caught up with her outside as she pushed her damp hair out of her eyes and loaded the bass on top of the amp. "You guys are awesome. How'd you learn to sing like that?"

"My mother was a singer," she stated hoarsely. "Put out two albums, both sold really well, but then she married my father and got out of the business before it destroyed either of them. You know," Zelda gave a little grin, "went respectable."

"You're amazing. The band is amazing. I just, I don't have any words, I..." Link realized he was raving and stopped, removing his cap from his head and running his hands through the messy wheat locks before shoving the cap back on. "I have a newfound respect for you. What was your mom's stage name?"

"Have you been drinking?" Zelda was leaning heavily against the h1, waiting for Malon to come out.

"No. I don't do alcohol. Why?"

"No reason."

"You're avoiding the topic."

"What topic? Listen, Link, I'm tired." Zelda rubbed at her eyes, her knuckles coming away with glitter mascara and eyeliner. "We'll talk at home, okay?"

"Okay. I'm going to go back inside, keep my friends from doing anything stupid, then shortly head home, as it's nearing curfew for both me and Sheep... I'll see you at home."

"Bye Link."

"Bye."

Malon came out just as Link was entering, and the two shot odd glances at one another before continuing on their separate ways.

"Excellent job, Zelda. Now hop in the back, will you? Lulu's gonna be out in just a minute, she's peeling Mikau off the floor. Tired?"

"Yeah."

"The performance was amazing."

"Thanks." Zelda crawled on top of the amp, yawning.

"You can rest for now if you want. Lulu may take a while."

"Okay."

And Zelda collapsed into sleep.

----

**A/N:** Helloooooo everybody! I'm still alive, isn't that exciting? I am SO SORRY that this has taken so long, as my beta was too busy to edit this and I've also been going through a very difficult time in life right now. No worries, though, because the story WILL continue on, if this isn't enough evidence. Everybody cheer! Yaaay!

Now, I have a short issue to address. To everybody who reviewed, thank you so much for your comments, as they really helped to inspire me. Keep it up! However, I was most shocked this evening to open up my email and find a review that was a total waste of time for both myself and for the writer.

Brokendreams, you have just won yourself a position on the wall of shame. I would like to tell you right now that I am not prejudiced against people of Indian or Middle Eastern heritage- in fact, one of my very best friends in the world is from Pakistan. Khail was not intended to sound like a Middle Eastern name; in fact, it's a play on the name "Kyle". Khail is not a Middle Eastern or Indian person, he is an iron-pumping white jock, and not that I have anything against football players or anything, but he's your typical spoiled white boy. And lastly, though I haven't stated it yet in the story for sheer lack of importance, Mikau's father is from Saudi Arabia, thus giving Mikau his dark complexion. His mother is of mixed Scottish-Irish descent. I intended no prejudice or offense in this story, and I feel that you're wasting your time pointing it out where there is none. I am very sorry if I have offended you, however, if you even read the story, you would know that Khail is not Indian or Middle Eastern, nor was he intended to be a symbol of the people. Please, if you have an actual problem with my story, say so, instead of wasting my time with empty accusations.

Breas Darkdragon, thank you very much for defending me and my character. I really appreciate it. ) And you're right, it is just a name. I very much appreciate you standing up in the face of sudden and often irrational anger. You, my dear, get a cookie.

Aaaaaaaand a thousand thanks to everybody who sent me a review. I'm sorry I can't list all your names here, but at the end of the story, I'll reply to all your reviews, I PROMISE. Thank you all so very very much, and keep those notes coming. They make me happy, and when I'm happy, everybody's happy!

That's all, folks.


	14. I'd Rather Be A Tree

**Fourteen: I'd Rather Be A Tree**

She awoke in bed the next morning, wrapped in her clean white sheets with a familiarly unfamiliar smell drifting around her. She closed her eyes, breathing in deeply, reveling in the soft, clean scent of the one person she most wanted, the one person she couldn't have, then opened her eyes, confused.

Wait a second.

She furrowed her brows in thought. She couldn't remember what had happened last night- she remembered the party, oh yes, and she recalled Link calling her wonderful, amazing...

Her cheeks tinted red at the memory and she smiled to herself, then furrowed her brows again, thinking once more.

She'd gotten in the car, yes, but that didn't explain the smell of Link all around her. So she was in the car, on top of the amp, and Malon had said... Malon had said...

_"You can rest for now if you want. Lulu may take a while."_

Yes, that was right! And she'd fallen asleep... Link must have seen her falling asleep and gotten in with her, and held her. That would make sense. And then when they'd gotten home, he'd probably carried her up to her room, and maybe stayed with her for a while. Yes, that would make sense, and besides, it would be a completely Link sort of thing to do.

Relaxing now that she had figured out the puzzle, Zelda snuggled into her pillow, looping her arms around the soft, plush cushion and holding it as intimately as though it were a person.

It was another fifteen minutes before she realized how thirsty she was, how starch her tongue was against the inside of her mouth. Sighing and resolving to return to her bed as soon as she could that night, she stood, sheets sliding off of her slightly-rumpled Halloween costume- or what was left of it, anyway. Link had removed everything except the pink base from her body, and she couldn't help but smile at his consideration. Sweet boy.

She stumbled into the bathroom, shedding the last of her dress and grabbing a glass from the counter, filling it with water and gulping it down as she took in the rose-colored chamber, leaning heavily against the white marble counter. Sighing with content and wiping her mouth with the back of her arm, Zelda set down the plastic cup with a loud click and made her way out of the bathroom, pulling her scarlet bathrobe around her bare shoulders and slipping her feet into her bunny slippers as she left her bedroom, on a mission for breakfast.

"Yum," she said to herself, picturing the glory of Impa making pancakes or waffles or just even cereal. Even though she'd only been living with them for five months, Zelda had grown quite accustomed to life with the Tudors, and was both happy and content.

In fact, Zelda was the best she'd ever been.

With a slightly unhappy jolt to the stomach, Zelda realized that her life really was too good to be true, when compared to her ugly past. Yes, she expected misery to rear its head sometime soon... in fact, it was rather shocking that she'd been able to get along so well the past few months. True, there was the stalker thing, and the little incident with Khail at lunch the other day, and the infrequent but horrible fights she had with Link, but this wasn't enough. No, Zelda thought, fate surely had something terrible in stock for her sometime soon.

She was absolutely right.

Trying to put these thoughts out of her mind, however, she padded into the kitchen and plopped down at the table next to Jayda, who was delicately eating a bowl of oatmeal. Saria was sitting atop the fridge, dumping liberal amounts of sugar, butter, and maple syrup into her own concoction. Haft was sitting at the head of the table reading the morning newspaper, and shot a grin up at Zelda.

"Good morning," he greeted.

"'morning," she replied easily, eyeing the paper. "Catching up on world events?"

"The funnies," he replied nonchalantly, showing her the colorful comics. "How was the party?"

"It was good. The band got a good response."

"Would you like some oatmeal, Zelda?" Impa asked from the stove.

"Yes, please," she replied eagerly.

"It's good to hear that the band is doing well. What did you call it again?"

"Volvagia," Zelda replied, stifling a yawn. "It's a mythical subterranean lava dragon that I read about... somewhere."

"It was told of some in my cult," Impa replied, plopping a steaming bowl of oat meal in front of Zelda. "Rather, my mother learned of it in the Sheikah cult and relayed it to me, in a strictly non-cultish way." Impa cracked a grin, and continued. "Supposedly, it was this great flaming snake-lizardy-dragon beast thing that ate the rock people that lived in a volcano back in the Sheikah home lands and was under the control of an evil king, however, the rock-people were saved by a hero who could craft the sands of time to obey his will, and using these powers he defeated the dragon in a mighty battle that took place underneath a volcano in a lava pit."

"Sounds pretty far fetched." Zelda blew on her spoonful of oatmeal before shoving it happily into her mouth.

"Yeah, well, supposedly the Sheikah were pretty nutty," Impa acknowledged with a nod. "They worshipped a goddess of darkness, their image of the devil was a giant invisible Cyclops that beat on a giant drum strung with the skin of its human victims, and they claimed that the shadows were from where they came and where they were to return. Note, though, that they said that shadows were nothing to be feared, only to be explored and understood, and that's one cult teaching that I do agree with. The rest is nonsense." She shook her head. "Crazy bloodthirsty bunch of knowledge freaks, let me tell you. My mother said they all spoke in riddles."

"Disgusting." Zelda downed another spoonful of delicious oatmeal.

"You'd think I'd be used to your strange cult stories by now," said Haft over his newspaper, shaking his head, "but I'm not."

"Pity you." Impa's mouth twisted in a wry grin, and then she whisked her husband's finished bowl of oatmeal from the table, muttering about 'lazy men'.

"Some of the stuff isn't so far-fetched," Saria piped up from atop the fridge. "I mean, I've had weirder dreams."

"Oh?" Impa stood with her hands on her hips, looking up at her green-haired daughter in amusement. "And what was that?"

"Well, once I dreamt that there was a talking tree," Saria replied. "And I was in a village with all children who never grew up, and Link was there and he was just a little boy, and people accused him of killing the tree, so I gave him a flute-thingy and then he ran away." Saria paused for a moment, thinking, and then continued. "And then all of a sudden evil bushes started popping up everywhere, and a shadow monster took me into a temple. The temple was my hiding place, you see, but the monster, which was actually a replica of an evil guy and his horse, locked me up in a room where I couldn't use my magical powers."

Jayda's little mouth twisted in a grimace of disgust, which she shot at her twin. "Magical powers? That's the stupidest thing I ever heard."

"Jayda, don't interrupt and don't say mean things. Let Saria finish her dream," Haft chastised, looking amused as he watched his other daughter.

"Well, anyway, a long time passed and I was just stuck in the room, and just as I started to go crazy Link burst in and saved me! Only he wasn't a little kid anymore, but he was all grown up even though supposedly he was a magic child like me and could never grow up. And it turned out I was a priestess or a nun or a tree or something like that. A willow or a mulberry or something like that. And then Link went and saved the world and I helped him with my magic powers. Oh, and Zelda was in it too. She was a princess that had cross-dressed as a boy in blue spandex but got kidnapped anyway by the evil king. It was weird."

There was silence for a moment, and Haft coughed politely to cover up his laugh.

"That's very nice, sweetie," he said, and went back to the funnies.

"You should be a writer someday, Saria," Impa told her daughter. "You could make stories out of your dreams."

"I'd rather be a tree," she said, and hopped down from the fridge, sauntering away.

Something Saria had said struck a cord deep in Zelda- she'd had a dream like that too once, it seemed, a long, long time ago... but she shook it off. Just a coincidence. What little girl didn't dream of being a princess at one point? Still unsettled lightly, Zelda was rinsing off her bowl of oatmeal when the phone rang. Impa picked it up.

"Hello? Yes... yes, this is Impa... oh, hello! No, she... what was that? Yes... no..." Impa laughed, her eyes flitting over to Zelda. "She's doing fine. Do you want to talk to her?"

For some reason, Zelda's blood ran cold.

"Okay, I'll pass the phone... yes... thank you for calling... no, don't mind at all... okay..." Impa looked up and passed Zelda the silver and black cordless phone. "Here, Zelda. It's your father."

"My what?" she asked faintly, and then took the phone. "Hello?"

"Hello Zelda. Why didn't you ever call me?" He had always been rather blunt.

"I left messages. You never returned them." Zelda was still rinsing her already-spotless bowl.

"Ah. Hrm." It was definitely her father- booming deep voice, the same booming deep voice that commanded authority over thousands of employees. "Are you enjoying yourself?"

"Yes, very much so," she said with as little chill in her voice as she could manage, though she just wanted to hang up. "This is probably the best thing you've ever done for me." Hey, Zelda could be blunt too, if she tried.

"Now Zelda, you know I tried..."

"I know." She gave a sigh, and shook her head. "So why did you call?"

"Your cousin Alexandria is having a wedding just before Christmas. I don't know if you got the invitations in the mail, but you're invited, as is the whole Tudor family. After all, it's what's expected. Can't invite you and shrug off your boarders."

"Am I allowed to bring friends?"

"Only if they can cope. There's going to be quite a large number of the press at the wedding itself, and then at the reception. Do you have anybody I know in mind?"

"You know the singer Lulu Bay? She was lead of the Indigo Go-Go's in the late sixties and early seventies? She's got a daughter I'm quite close to..."

"Lulu Bay's daughter? That would be excellent for publicity, most excellent... how about we invite the entire Bay family to the wedding? I'm sure that they would love the wedding, as we will have a number of influential celebrities at the ceremony... perhaps we could even convince Miss Bay to sing..."

"Um. I'll ask them."

"Excellent. How are your studies going?"

"Fine."

"Are you well liked?"

"Sure."

"Are you making a good and respectable name for yourself? Are you admired?"

Zelda's temper was dangerously close to snapping.

"Yeah, I'm very well respected and admired. I'm a member of a very influential school community." Well, it wasn't a total lie.

"Good. It's good to hear that you are upholding my reputation properly."

She could have screamed.

"Don't you have work to be doing?" Her tone was icy cold.

"As a matter of fact, I do. You're expected at the house a week before the ceremony and are expected to remain for a week after. I'll pull strings with your school if you need me to."

"Um. Thanks. We'll be there."

There was a moment of silence in which Zelda fumed and her father was quiet. Finally, "Zelda?"

"Yes?"

"I miss you."

For a moment, she was stunned, then her anger softened.

"I miss you too, Dad."

"I have to go now. Work to be done." And he hung up. Zelda hit the "talk" button and set the phone down, numb.

"Zelda?" Impa was peering at her with concern, Haft was unmoving behind his newspaper, and the two little girls were staring.

"We're expected to be at the house first day of winter holiday. My father will pull strings with the school if he has to. Ex... excuse me," she said, and stumbled out of the room, blinded by a thousand emotions.

It was the first time she'd talked to her father in five months and the conversation hadn't lasted five minutes. Sure, he'd tried, but she was just so angry with him... he'd sent her away, pushed her away, had time for his bimbos but not for her. For that, she hated him.

She walked up to her room, still fuming, still upset, and collapsed onto her bed, not even bothering to close the door as she buried her face in the pillow. With a meow, Valoo hopped up onto the bed and curled up in the small of her back, and at the feeling of the purring creature with her, she sighed, unwinding.

"Oh, Valoo..." she rolled over, causing the furry creature to fall off her, and before he could run away she clutched him to her chest. "Why can't life be good? I woke up feeling so nice, too..."

-

It was dinner on that Thursday night, three weeks before Thanksgiving break, and Impa and Haft had just made a very special announcement to the family plus Zelda.

"We're getting a hot tub?" Link asked, a silly lopsided grin on his face. "Are you serious?"

"Absolutely. Those swimsuits of ours are getting dusty in their drawers, and besides, your father just got a raise."

"Woooooo!" Saria let up a cheer, and little Jayda smiled.

"What type of tub?" Zelda asked, spinning her fork in her hand.

"It's an underground tub," Haft clarified. "Kind of like the ones in swimming pools. We're getting it installed in about a week. It's very nice... you'll all like it, I'm sure."

"Where're you putting it?" Jayda was trying to twirl her fork in her hand like Zelda was, and was failing. Miserably.

"Just below the willow tree, out by the porch."

"Cooooool." It was shocking how much Saria could sound like Link sometimes.

"I can't believe it." Link was grinning like a Cheshire cat across the table at Zelda, a grin that quickly turned into a pout. "Why'd you have to get a hot tub NOW? I only graduate in a year and a half! You should have gotten one years ago! Or something."

"Link?" Impa looked at her son with fake shock and then shook her head in amused disbelief, crystal teardrop earrings sending rainbows of light across the kitchen walls. "Shut up, my boy."

"You got served," Jayda said seriously through a mouth of broccoli. "Very, very served."

-

Zelda and Link were sitting in her room studying- Link was cross legged on the floor staring at his history spiral with furrowed brows, Zelda lying stomach down on her bed reading The Scarlet Letter for AP English III.

"I don't get it," she finally stated, looking down at Link, who was mumbling slightly under his breath.

"Get what?" His eyes remained focused on the spiral.

"This Chillingworth guy terrorizes this preacher dude called Dimmesdale who had a love child with Chillingworth's wife Hester, and Dimmesdale hasn't talked to Hester in seven years, and even though both guys treat poor Hester like total scum she doesn't tell the community that Dimmesdale is a dickhead and Chillingworth is a murderer because she promised."

"Hawthorne must have been drunk," said Link. "I haven't even read it yet. Just been spark-noting it."

"But it doesn't make sense!" Zelda slammed the book onto her bed, growling. "I mean, they don't even throw in a good sex scene! It's all boring puritan babble. I mean, listen to this!" Zelda picked up the book again, flipping through the multicolor high-lighted pages, and stopped. "Okay, keep in mind that this is small children saying this:

_'Behold, verily, there is the woman of the scarlet letter; and, of a truth, moreover, there is the likeness of the scarlet letter running along by her side! Come, therefore, and let us fling mud at them!'_

"Have you ever even used the word 'verily' before? I haven't," Zelda ranted. "What does verily even mean?"

"Truthfully or certainly or something like that." Link squeezed the skin on the bridge of his nose, then laid back on the soft white carpet, draping his history spiral over his face like a roof.

"I just don't get it." Zelda sighed, dropping her book off the edge of the bed. "I mean, Thanksgiving break is in a bit more than three weeks and we still have to read 'Death of a Salesman' before winter holiday kicks in three weeks after thanksgiving, and one week of that is for finals and another week is dead week prepping for finals. It's icky!" She tumbled off the bed and flopped down next to Link, flinging her arms dramatically above her head. "Our school is run by slave drivers."

"Yup." His response was muffled, and, giggling, Zelda sat up and pushed the spiral off Link's face, meeting his blue eyes with her own. He blew a few strands of his wheat hair out of his face, and failed miserably as they only came back down. Sighing and shaking her head, Zelda plopped back down next to Link, curling into his side.

"Link?"

"Pfffff... yes?"

There was silence for a moment, then Zelda snuggled closer to him.

"Thank you for being my friend and accepting me and not judging me, even though I make stupid mistakes." It was all a long sigh, and Link peered down at her, smiling to see her dark lashes resting on her pale cheeks. They laid like that for a moment, and slowly, Link lowered his head back to the carpet.

"Zelda?"

"Mm?"

"You're welcome."

-

**uploaded ****10:27 PM**

**February 5, 2005**

**A/N:** Kind of a dead chapter, I know, but if I get far enough ahead in reading and editing and whatnot (and I keep my grades up, not very easy) then there should be another update on WEDNESDAY! HURRAH! Everybody do a little dance. I know that this chapter seems rather empty, but I promise, more fluffy full chapters are coming along!

Thank you all so much for your reviews- this story wouldn't happen without them. DANK'OO! I'll see you this time next week (at the very latest!)


	15. Soccer

**Fifteen: Soccer**

Now, Zelda wouldn't lie and say that Link was a normal human being, because that was a major lie and she would most certainly be bitten back by karma for saying such a thing. As it was, though, Link had been acting really not normal that whole week. It was infuriating.

Take Monday morning, for example. Zelda had clomped down to breakfast, yawning, expecting to see Link grinning his silly grin at the kitchen table, but only to find it empty. Impa, as though she could read Zelda's thoughts herself, smiled.

"He went into school early today."

"Ah." This wasn't an uncommon occurrence, but Link usually told Zelda before he did so that she could go in early with him. Deciding that she wasn't one for riding the train up to school alone, Zelda called up Mikau, and caught a ride to school with him, Malon, and Darmani's in the drummer's red truck. It was a tight fit, but fun.

Zelda didn't see Link at lunch that day. Feeling a little brushed off, she waited by the arch rather impatiently after school. Link stopped by for a second to tell her he wouldn't be going with her, then ran off again. He looked rather odd- sweaty and gross, as though he'd spent all day in the heat. Feeling unloved, Zelda wandered away to where she knew Malon, Lulu, Mikau and Darmani hung out after school to, again, beg a ride.

Tuesday and Wednesday were the same, as were Thursday and Friday. Zelda was beginning to think it would never stop, suspicions that only rose when, come Monday morning, there was again no Link. Tuesday passed. Wednesday passed.

On Thursday, Zelda decided that she had _so_ had enough.

During Lunch, Zelda wandered over to the table where Link's friends sat. Sure enough, the whole crew was there, sans Khail. Whatever.

"Ahem."

Sheep, who she felt most comfortable addressing, was deep in a conversation with someone Zelda had only seen a few times… what was his name? Coor? Cake? Cony? Something strange like that.

"Sheep?"

Still no reply.

"Sheeep..." She poked him in the shoulder. He went on talking. Sighing in frustration, Zelda stomped back to her table, grabbed her heavy PreCal book, and slammed it roughly down on the table in front of Sheep, the loud WHAM that echoed through the cafeteria effectively silencing over half of the student populous. Sheep was included, and was looking at Zelda attentively (with slight irritation showing in his features).

"THANK YOU," she said to him, then exhaled. "I'm looking for Link."

"Why?"

"I haven't seen him at all all week."

"Don't you live with him?"

"Yes, but even then, I only see him at meal times."

"Really? That's kind of funny, you know, because you're in the same house and all…"

"Sheep…" Zelda bit back a growl of frustration, and ground out, "where. Is. Link."

"You mean he didn't tell you?"

She was going to scream. She really was. And then she was going to strangle him with a power cable.

"No, Sheep. Now tell me where he is."

"Well that's funny. You'd think…"

"SHEEP!" She yelled despite herself and he narrowed his eyes in annoyance.

"What?"

"Tell me where Link is, and don't say anything else."

"Down on the soccer pitch. He's…"

But Zelda had already turned and left.

The soccer pitch? She wondered to herself as she walked out of the cafeteria, through the courtyard, and past the gym, behind the math building and down the path. What on earth would Link of all people be doing at the soccer pitch?

She entered the sports arena, which was partially situated on the hill behind the school. She recalled when she'd first seen the sports arena and how much it struck her as like the sports arena of "Ten Things I Hate About You", which was probably one of her favorite movies ever. Oh, it was so romantic the way Heath Ledger had sung to Julia Stiles while she was at soccer practice…

Smiling to herself, she hopped down the last of the steps leading in and entered the actual arena, looking for Link among the other fifteen boys who were practicing. There were cones and goals set up, and after a moment, Zelda identified Link among the masses- broad chest, broad shoulders, shaggy hair flying in his face as he expertly dribbled the ball around a cone. He was wearing a white tank and a pair of shorts, along with shin guards and soccer cleats.

Swallowing, Zelda descended from the stands down to the soccer field- her timing was impeccable. Just as her feet touched on the turf, Link stopped from his practice to wander over to a bench and grab a towel, wiping off his sweaty face and then taking a deep gulp from a water jug. Shaking her head and stopping from her momentary staring, Zelda proceeded over to Link, tapping him on the shoulder with a "boo."

"Huh? Dude, give me a minute, I'm about to…… oh, hey Zelda." Instantly, he looked nervous. "Please, I'm…"

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked quietly. "I mean, not like it's a big deal, but I've felt all brushed off this week. And last week, too," she added on second thought.

"I thought you'd think…" Link sighed, rubbing his face off with his towel again and plopping roughly down on the bench. Zelda sat down next to him.

"Think what?"

"Little of me," he finally said.

Zelda was floored. "Why would you ever think that?"

"Because," Link seemed to be choosing his words carefully, "you live with me, and because of that, I think that you think that I am only as I act at home, which is stupid and lazy."

"I don't…" Zelda stopped, deciding to let Link finish. He shot her a glimmering grin that caused her heart to stop, and then sighed, looking up at the clouds.

"Did I ever tell you I used to be on a soccer team?"

"I never knew that."

"I loved it. It was before I came to high school, you see. I haven't had time since, or I haven't been able to try out."

"Why didn't you try out last year?" Zelda hadn't even realized that Link's hand was covering hers.

"Grades were too low in one of my classes. I was ineligible. I didn't want that to happen again this year."

"Is that one of the reasons why you've been working so hard in Algebra II?"

Link sighed, then chuckled. "You know me too well."

"Well, you know what, Link?" Zelda turned to face him, beaming.

"What?" He'd raised one eyebrow, a cocky smirk beginning to smother his attractive features.

"I don't think you're a big, dumb, lazy jerk."

"No?" He looked surprised now.

"Nope. Now, sometimes you're a jackass, mind, but that comes with the territory of being male. And I think you can make the soccer team, no sweat. When are tryouts?"

"Tonight," Link said. "It's a scrimmage, of sorts, against the actual soccer team. We've been practicing all week, getting ready. Last week I was training."

Zelda then realized that Link's hand was resting, comfortably warm, on top of hers, and, without knowing what she was doing, she gave his sticky sweaty soccer palm a hard squeeze.

"I don't want to deter you from practice," she said, standing up, letting her hand leave his fluidly, as though they had never been connected. "Kick butt, Link, puh-_lease_, or I'll have to punish you for ditching me all week." Her grin betrayed the seriousness of the last part of her statement.

"I will, as long as you're cheering for me," he said, standing up and stretching out his sweaty, worn muscles.

"I'll be thinking of you, then, on the ride home."

"You been riding the train?"

"Nah. I've been catching rides with the band."

"Well, cool. I'll see you tomorrow, I guess."

"Alright. Bye, Link."

"Bye, Zel. And thanks."

"Don't mention it."

As she climbed back up the steps to the top of the arena, she turned back for a moment to watch Link going at it with renewed vigor. Sighing and feeling oddly sad for some strange reason, she continued up and out of the stadium.

It was still a few more steps to the top of the hill and back onto the flat school grounds, and Zelda climbed them slowly, pondering Link the whole way.

-

The alarm clock went off, and Zelda rolled groggily out of bed, fumbling to turn it off as best she could.

"Ungh," she grunted to herself. "Whastoday?" Through sleep-blurred eyes, she squinted up at the Comic Book Heroes calendar hanging over one of her end tables. Friday.

"Oh thank gosh." She yawned and pulled herself to her knees, then unsteadily to her feet, shaking her head. Again she yawned, stretching, and then stumbled to the dresser, tripping over the sheets entangled in her legs on the way. She took one look at her sleep-rumpled hair and grimaced, grabbed a brush, and combed it out until it was almost okay. Then she grabbed a hair tie, flipped her head upside down, and tied her hair up as usual. A few wisps fell in her face as she straightened up, and, mildly irritated, she blew them out of her way before yanking open one drawer and fishing for a shirt. She pulled out a black and pink "Sex Pistols" shirt, and yanked it over her head, twisting it a bit so it would fit over her cherry-print bra. From there, she grabbed a pair of cargos and yanked them on over her black panties. Still yawning, she searched for socks, and finally found a pair stashed in her underwear drawer, and she sat on the floor, pulling them over her feet. After a moment's searching, she found her gray hoodie underneath her bed (go figure) and, content with her appearance, she stumbled into the bathroom to brush her teeth.

Several minutes later found Zelda wandering into the kitchen, and upon seeing Link sitting at the table, she stopped.

"Not going in early today," he croaked out. "Tryouts last night. I find out today after school."

"Ah. You feeling okay?"

"Just fine." It was a lie if Zelda had ever heard one- she didn't think he was looking just fine. If anything, she decided, he was rather on the green side.

"Okay."

They ate in silence, went to school in silence (Zelda phoned Darmani and told him she didn't need a ride) and the whole day, for Zelda, was tense. They ate together at lunch, but Link hardly spoke a word, and, at three thirty when the bell rang, Zelda had never been gladder.

She met Link where they'd agreed to meet, just outside the library, and decided to herself that he looked like someone had slipped a laxative in his lunch. Sighing, she took his arm.

"Come on," she told him. "Let's go find out how you did."

"Zelda…."

It was one of the few words he'd ever spoken to her all day, and she couldn't help but turn to face him at the pleading in his voice. There was indecision in his eyes, nervousness, and she couldn't help but smile inwardly. He looked vulnerable, for once. She reached over and smoothed the hair out of his eyes, and then took both his hands in hers.

"Come on, Link. I'm here for you."

"What if I didn't make it?"

"Life continues on. You'll just have more time to spend with me." She shot a silly grin at him, and was relieved to see the muscles in his shoulders uncoil.

"Okay."

He stepped forward and she let go of his hands, walking just in front of him to the gym and pushing towards the front of the crowd, Link just behind her and looking quite shaky.

"What time do we hear results?" she asked him. He looked down at his black electronic watch, then up at the doors.

"Umm… now."

Less than twenty seconds later, a big man came out of the gym holding a clipboard. There was a whistle strung around his neck on a red lanyard, and he was dressed in standard 'gym teacher uniform', a school athletics shirt and a pair of black windbreaker pants. His hair was short and spiky and his face was intense, though Zelda could see that it could easily bend into a kind smile- he must have been in his mid forties or so.

"You have all done a great job, and I commend you for your hard work and devotion this week. Unfortunately, I can't take each of you. For those of you who were accepted, congratulations, and I'll speak with you privately on Monday. For those of you who didn't make it, I mourn with you, and hope that you can join us next year.

"Results for new junior-varsity boys' team are as follows… numbers one, two, ten, twelve, thirteen, fifteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty four, twenty five, thirty one, thirty two, thirty four, thirty six, forty, forty six, and forty nine. Again, that is numbers one, two, ten, twelve, thirteen, fifteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty four, twenty five, thirty one, thirty two, thirty four, thirty six, forty, forty six, and forty nine. Results for girls' junior-varsity team…"

"Come on, let's go." Link's face was blank as he pulled Zelda back through the crowd, and he didn't say a thing until they were past the arch that led to school grounds, a good halfway to the station. He whirled around, eyes glimmering as he faced Zelda.

"I made it, Zel! I made it!" He wrapped his arms around her waist and hoisted her high into the air, spinning her around. "I'm on the team!"

"Oh, Link, that's wonderful!" Zelda laughed and looped her arms around his neck, not that she didn't trust him not to drop her but for the sheer need of contact and the joy they both felt- his for succeeding, hers for his success. Link spun her a final time and then lowered her to the ground, setting her carefully on her feet. Zelda laughed again, her arms slipping from around his neck, and grabbed Link's hand, giddy, though she wasn't sure why.

"Let's skip!" she declared, and together they skipped the rest of the way to the station and waited for their train, all the while laughing.

-

"Mom!" Link burst in the back door, looking wild and pleased.

"Yes dear?"

"I made the soccer team!"

"Oh, did you really?" Impa turned around, clapping her hands together in glee. "I'm so proud of you. I was just making chicken teriyaki, your favorite. Wait 'till your father hears…."

Zelda beamed at Link as she followed him in the screen door.

Thank god for cool parents.

-

And then, quite suddenly, it was Thanksgiving break.

This didn't even occur to Zelda until her last class of the day, French, when her teacher wished them all a good holiday in her throaty French accent.

So, of course, when she crashed into Link for the ride home, she was jumping up and down with giddy glee.

"Do you realize what this means?"

"Mmmm?" He was looking through a thick packet of information on the soccer team, what would be expected of him, expenses….

"We don't have to deal with stupid people for another five days!"

"Mmmm."

"And the hot tub has finally been installed, hasn't it?"

"Mmmhmm.."

"Then we can go hot tubbing all break long! Say, Link, how about we do that? We can go hot tubbing the second we get home."

"Uh huh. Sounds like fun." He flipped a page. Sighing in exasperation, Zelda plopped down on a station bench to wait.

"Honestly, Link, sometimes you really are impossible," she chided.

"Okay." He nodded absently, brows furrowing as he took in the contents of the page in front of him.

Zelda sighed.

"I'm going to scrutinize you now."

"Have fun." He paused, eyes flitting up to re-read a paragraph, and then nodded to himself. Shaking her head, Zelda did just as she said she would- scrutinize him to abyss and back.

His blue eyes were squinting from underneath his wild shaggy wheat hair and ever-present (outside of school) green baseball cap. He was sitting slouched, shoulders rounded over underneath his black "know your shrooms" hoodie, upon which the various mushrooms from Super Mario were printed. He was wearing a blue "+1" sweatband around his left wrist, on which the life up mushroom (again, from Super Mario) was printed; on his right wrist was his big black electronic sports watch. His baggy, faded, low-slung jeans were held up with a plain black belt, the buckle of which was a silver SNES imitation controller, which he said Saria had given him for Christmas the previous year. From the bottom of his pants, combat boots peeked out, scuffed and black.

All in all, he looked rather delectable.

Then Zelda noticed something odd.

"You're left handed?"

"Yep. Why?" Link looked up from his papers for a moment, standing with Zelda as the train pulled up.

"I just noticed is all. You wear your watch on your right wrist, and you have a reminder to "do history project" on the back of your right hand."

He looked down, and then grinned, his canines exposed wolfishly.

"Yeah, I'm a lefty. You know the saying, righty tighty lefty loosie."

"I don't want to even begin to think about what that might mean with you."

Link cackled, pulling off his forest green backpack and shoving his papers into the tattered cloth compartment.

"Done with your papers?"

"Yeah, I'll let Mom read through them."

"Hm."

They plopped down in the train, him across from her, and for a moment she had to stop and admire how easily he slung himself into his seat and sprawled his limbs out. He looked like a prince.

No, prince wasn't right. Like a knight. A lazy knight.

Her lazy knight.

The ride home consisted of mindless bantering between the two, as it always did. They trotted off the train and then down the few streets to the house. When they walked in the door at four, they both dropped their things on the floor and dashed up the stairs to change after both exchanging a quick "hello" with Impa..

It was SO hot tub time.

Link was ready a good five minutes before Zelda was, and for a moment, he marveled to himself how long it took women to change…

"Girls," he grumbled to himself, leaning against the doorway, enjoying the feel of his soft white cotton wife beater sliding over his chest, the fluffy towel on his shoulder, and the hang of the long green and black Hawaiian print swimming trunks that he'd rummaged up.

And just then, she exited her room and he had to stop and just stare for a second.

Her skin was soft, smooth looking- she was wearing a pair of short black swimming shorts and a modest pink bikini top. She was pale, but not pasty; there was a soft glow to her taut white belly. His gaze traveled down her legs, past her creamy thighs to her knees, when he mentally slapped himself, shaking his head and reminding himself that he was in very flimsy swim trunks. However, she didn't seem to notice, as she was busy eyeing him up like a piece of bacon as well. He cleared his throat carefully.

"Shall we go down?"

"Er, yeah. Let's. It's about time we be getting down… in the hot tub…. Er, going down, that is."

He had to work very hard to restrain a snicker at how flustered she was. Shaking his head, he led the way down the stairs and through the kitchen, slung his towel over the railing outside on the porch, then progressed down the steps and plopped in the brand spanking new hot tub that resided below the willow tree. Installations had been delayed, of course, but now it was in and it was great. It was large, surrounded by a flat, smooth limestone pathway and some rosemary plants Impa had lovingly buried nearby. Taking a deep breath of the good sea air, Link slid into the hot water, biting back a yelp.

"It's hot," he said to Zelda. "So don't just hop…in…"

She splashed into the tub, immersing herself in to the eyes. Her forehead looked distinctly pink, and Link just couldn't help himself from laughing.

"Silly girl," he chastised. "That's a good way to fry your nerve endings."

"Whatever you say. Hey there, Valoo." The fat white cat padded over, sniffing curiously at the water, then rubbing his head against Zelda's wet shoulder. Obligingly, she patted his head, mindlessly scooting closer to Link.

"He should come in with us," Link commented, looking at the cat. Then, he scowled. "He likes you more than he likes me, and I'm the one who wanted him in the first place! You traitor you," he growled at the poof ball.

"Well, Valoo's gay," Zelda stated, "and so he and I chill with one another, you know, scope out the fine male specimens that are to be found." She waggled her eyebrows at Link, then sighed dramatically. "Too bad there's none to be found anywhere near here."

"I'm insulted." Link splashed Zelda with water, hitting Valoo as well, efficiently scaring away the cat.

"You should be," replied Zelda, splashing him back. "Ack!"

It was all out war, but it quickly ended when Link seized Zelda and began to ruthlessly tickle her.

"No -ahahaha- Link-ahaha-Stop it right now or I'll –ahahahaha…"

"Mighty ferocious, you are," he said. He quickly found himself whacked atop the head, however, and let go. "That hurt."

Zelda grinned, shaking a strand of hair out of her eyes. "You're a real jerk, Link." She leaned her head back, sighing with content. "Mmm."

Link moved closer, closer to her. Her face was the expression of peace- pink lips upturned, dark lashes resting on her cheeks. He began to lift one hand to run it along her jaw line, trace her face, then stopped.

What if he was rejected?

And then suddenly, everything he'd read in her journal came crashing down on his head.

It wouldn't work. It wouldn't. Their relationship wouldn't last. They'd break up. Things would get awkward, and they'd have to see one another every day after that, unless Zelda chose to go back to the house, which would be the worst possible thing for her. It would be an eternity of suffering for him, an eternity of humiliation for her, and they'd never see one another ever again.

He realized how right she was, how right she'd been all along and how he should have seen it sooner and put a damper on his emotions. But it hadn't happened, and now it was too late for him. But she was safe, he knew. She was in control, she wouldn't let him hurt either of them. But he didn't want her to be the only strong one, and so he would seal away his feelings as best he could.

She'd been right all along. It was too risky, there was too much pain to be had if something went wrong.

"Link?" Zelda opened her eyes and saw the pained expression on his face. "Is something wrong?"

"Ah… no, nothing. I'm… I'm not feeling so good. I'm going to go inside…."

And then, Link did something he was not very proud of.

He bolted.

-

Zelda hadn't been expecting much of a Thanksgiving, as Impa and Haft were very relaxed, as opposed to her uptight father and his manner of celebrations, which always consisted of a family dinner and then football, while Zelda was left to her own devices, tolerating her cousins as best she could.

Her expectations, or possibly lack thereof, were not let down.

Thursday, Thanksgiving, she slept in and woke up late, then sauntered downstairs to check out the grub scene. Hurrah for her, Impa had a turkey in the oven and Haft had gone out to get some pre-mixed foodstuffs; potatoes, dressing, cranberry sauce. Link was sitting, topless, sprawled on the couch, sleep in his eyes as he watched reruns of the parade. Saria and Jayda were sitting on the floor on beanbag chairs, staring at the screen with awe and delight.

"Link, when you're all grown up, you have to take me to the parade," Saria stated, tugging at the hem of Link's flannel pajama pants.

"Okay, squirt."

"Good morning." Zelda sauntered in and plopped down on Link's feet, leaning against the couch arm and staring at the screen. "Macy's?"

"Yeah," Link stated with a yawn. "We're watching the parade. Dad taped it with TiVo."

"Ssssh, ssssh!" Jayda hissed. "They're showing the Radio City Rockettes!"

"Jayda wants to be a Rockette," Saria confided to Zelda in a low whisper.

"Ssssssh!"

"I'm home!" Zelda heard Haft boom merrily, bursting in the kitchen door.

"Ssssssssh!" Jayda hissed to the other room. "You're being noisy."

"Sorry, dear. Impa, what do you want me to do with these mashed potatoes?"

"SSSSSSSSSSSSH! YOU'RE MAKING ME MISS IT!"

She watched eager eyes, and Zelda couldn't help but smile down at the little brat's head. After the parade ended, the four sauntered in to the kitchen to investigate the food- they stole stuffing and cranberry sauce and slices of pumpkin bread, and often found themselves chased out of the kitchen by Impa, who was threateningly wielding a whisk.

All in all, it was one the best Thanksgiving Zelda had ever had.

-

**uploaded ****6:18 PM**

**February 9, 2005**

**A/N:** OH NOES! Link, you silly boy, what have you gone and gotten yourself into now? You all are SO going to shoot me for this chapter, I know, but if you DO decide to bust out the guns, please, wait another two chapters. Then you'll REALLY hate me.

Mwahahahahahaha. cackle Next chapter coming up is a big'un. I'm sure you'll all love it. Or hate it. One of the two. But I have some bad news concerning our hero and heroine, and that is that, as Link and Zelda both believe it's impossible to conduct a relationship, there will be no sparks flying between them. Er, rather, there will be, but neither will notice. Don't worry, though; I swear they'll come to their senses. Eventually. Give it a while. That doesn't mean that the story will be devoid of fluff- if anything, it's going to get fluffier, since they're both "secure" now and know they're going to stay just friends. Mwahahahaha.

Aaaaaand, what else… I know there was something important I was going to say… aw, hell, I don't know. But anyway, there's a crazy twist in the next chapter that I've been hinting at for quite some time, so don't blast me for it saying that it's stupid, because there's point and purpose to it. Honestly. Really. There is.

Prepare to see….. THE CAVE OF THE BEAST ITSELF! Next chapter, you get to see Zelda's house. Gasp. Dun dun dunnnn!

'till then, all.


	16. Home Is Where the Heart Is Not

**Sixteen :**** Home is where the heart is not**

Finals and the three weeks preceding passed in a haze of studying and hysterics for Zelda, a haze of pain for Link, for with his newfound realization had come newfound heartache that he had worked hard to conceal from the world. Zelda, however, ever perceptive, had picked up on his mood, and though at first she had asked him what was wrong, done all that she could for him, she'd gotten the feeling that he just wanted to be left alone.

She was right.

And now it was nine 'o clock in the morning the DAY after the end of finals, and where was Link to be found?

Why, in the back seat of his father's yellow wrangler jeep, sulking. Zelda was sitting shotgun, listening to her MP3 player and staring out the window. Link knew that out of the three people in that car, Zelda was the most right to be sulking- after all, she was the one being sent back to what had been a living hell for her most of her life, to 'visit'.

But oh, Link was using the downtime to his advantage. And so, he sulked.

Zelda, on the other hand, had 'Save Yourself' by Stabbing Westward on repeat and was staring out at the blurred December landscape with unfocused eyes, trying to recall every detail about her home that she had forgotten, every last thing she had sealed away. She knew she would need it for her stay, their stay- the Harkinian household was glamorous on the outside, glamorous on the inside, but rotten to the core. The servants there were often sniping, uppity, her father was strict and distant, not to mention that various important wedding guests would be staying in the massive mansion for sure, and the popularity game was a risky one to play, especially with her father being who he was…

Zelda spent the entire car ride racking her brain, as she had during finals, thinking as hard as she could, putting important names to important faces, forcing herself to recall trivial facts, like Mrs. Annembery's favorite dog's name (Tinsel). She recalled etiquette, trivial rules, the floor plan of the house, history…

By the time that they arrived in the ritzy neighborhood in Napa Valley, Zelda had morphed in her seat from the carefree teenaged Zelda, bassist in a small band and nobody special, to the rich, beautiful, perfect Zelda Harkinian, a young woman who could take the sharks head on and not blink, the young woman who, though she was sheltered from the media, would certainly take her place in the spotlight there very soon.

Even Link and Haft noticed this as they stepped out of the car, watching her gracefully slide from her seat- regally, almost. Father and son shot one another amazed looks as Zelda removed her headphones, placing them in her Prada bag, and brushed her curly hair over her shoulder.

"Well, here we are," she said, except it sounded more like a declaration to Link and Haft, a command of sorts. "Welcome to the house."

Impa and the girls pulled up just then, the two hyperactive little girls hopping up and down excitedly in the back seat of Impa's silver four runner.

"I don't see much," Link commented, eyeing up the large, orange stucco wall and the dark wooden gates before them. There were security cameras attached, as well as a number keypad, a screen, and a speakerphone. Zelda hit in a long, complicated number, then waited for an image to click to life on the screen. Behind her, Impa got the girls out of the car.

"Ah, Miss Harkinian." It was Diego, one of the nicer people who worked at the house, a security guard. "I see you've returned?"

"Yes, with guests. Allow us in, please."

"Right away, ma'am. I'll send someone out to get the cars for you, too, if that would be acceptable."

"That would be wonderful, Diego," Zelda said, then shook her head, straightening up as the doors creaked open.

"In we go," she said, ignoring the amazed looks of the Tudors as the gate's tall wooden doors opened. As Haft opened up the wrangler's trunk, she added, "don't worry about the cars or your luggage. It's all going to be taken care of. Let's go. It's a bit of a walk up, but I can explain things to you as we go."

"Well, alright." Haft was the first to speak up. "Let's go, girls. Come on, Link, Impa."

Link grinned. "Right."

The walk was silent except for Zelda explaining to the family what they would be dealing with, what all would be happening, what they could expect. She explained the strict schedule the house was run under, who would be there, most likely, and the names of the important servants who lived there.

Oh, and how to call off the dogs.

"_Down_, boys," Zelda barked at them, whistling shrilly at the three large German Shepards. "Isaac! Julius! Epiphany! _Down_! Go back to the house." She snapped in the faces of the dogs, trying in vain to get the three happy canines off of her.

"Just tell them down if they attack you," she explained, trying to wipe the mutt slobber off of her legs after they'd trotted away. "Not that they should. And use their names, too, and tell them to go back to the house."

"What were their names?" Impa asked.

"Isaac, Julius, and Epiphany. Isaac is the one with the red collar, Julius is blue, and Epiphany has the yellow collar. That would probably be the easiest way for you to remember them."

Haft nodded. "Mmmhm. Don't forget that, girls, okay?" The girls chorused their affirmations.

"They shouldn't give you too many problems," Zelda said. "Hopefully, anyway. And you can always yell for help if you really need it."

"Er, right." Link looked a little green. Sighing, Zelda led them the rest of the way up to the house, and then stopped.

"This is it." She let them take in the giant palm trees, the four floors of orange stucco and red roof, the sheer size and grandeur of it. "Come on, let me show you inside."

"It's like a big orange castle," Saria remarked.

"Yes," Zelda gave a small smile, "I suppose it is."

And the tyrant lies inside.

-

It had been nearly an hour, and she had showed them everything she could think of- those rooms that she couldn't let them enter, she'd given them a thorough explanation as to what laid on the other side of the rich wooden doorway, and she'd explained the guest rooms on the floors above. Now, exhausted, they were at the last stop. Zelda's room.

There was nothing remarkable about her bedroom door, excluding the fact that it had "Zelda's Room" at the top in embossed golden letters.

"This is it." It was the moment she'd been waiting for and the moment she knew the Tudors had been waiting for, and, holding her breath, she turned the golden handle. Zelda opened the door and stepped back, allowing the five Tudors to look inside with something akin to awe.

The first thing that overwhelmed their brains was one word: pink. The second, that it was not a very Zelda room. Definitely not a Zelda room.

Upon seeing this thought register on all their faces, she cleared her throat, shifting her weight from one foot to another.

"My mother did it. She… more than anything, she wanted a baby girl. Before I was even born, she planned this room out. A few touches have been added to keep it from looking dated, but for the most part, this is my room as she imagined it." Zelda stepped fully into the room and looked around at the pink walls, breathing in the scent of the air freshener that the maid always kept a full supply of in the room.

"Your mother had extraordinary tastes," Haft finally said, still looking around in awe. Zelda smiled sadly, turning to face them.

"She did. She was…. One of a kind, from what I've heard. A true lady." She turned around and looked at the room, her room, more. This was the only thing she had missed from home, this room- though it was definitely not in her tastes, it was one of the largest contributions Zelda's mother had ever made to her daughter's life.

Sensing that she needed to be alone for a time, Impa cleared her throat.

"Well," she said pleasantly. "I think I'll get settled in. When do you think lunch will be, Zelda…?"

She didn't even turn, still studying the room that appeared exactly as she remembered it. "One thirty on the dot. Be in the dining room at one twenty-five. Don't forget."

"We won't. That's only in about an hour, isn't it?"

Impa nodded in reply to her husband's question, and then ushered her curious daughters plus a very curious Link out of the room. "Come on. Let's go see if our stuff is in our rooms now."

"Okay, Mom," Zelda heard Jayda chime, and then the door was shut with a click, leaving her alone in the room.

Yes, it was exactly as she had remembered it. The walls were a soft powder pink, cream white molding running around the junction between the floor and the walls and the walls and the ceiling. She stepped forward to her bed, all designer fabrics and pillows.

She gently touched the cream white silk sheets, edges trimmed with lace, and then over that, the golden waffle-style quilt, over which was a half-folded back comforter that was plaid in various shades of cream and soft pastel pinks. Lastly, there was an exquisite cream crocheted blanket that Zelda knew her mother had made for her, and over all of this rested a carefully folded waterfall of clear lace. Beautiful pillows of all shapes and sizes and patterns were piled all atop the bed, all in various shades of cream, pink, and gold, reaching from the four poster's mahogany headboard nearly to the matching mahogany footboard. Above the bed was a canopy of pink lace over an opaque cream sheet; matching curtains were tied back upon each of the four posts of the bed. Smiling for a moment, Zelda breathed in deeply, then turned to examine the rest of the room.

The regal wall sconces were still there, of course, as was all of the matching mahogany furniture- the armoire, the delicate desk, the vanity, the modest bookcase, and the two end tables. At the foot of the bed was a mahogany trunk, which Zelda knew was filled with her old playthings; rag dolls. She'd never wanted anything more, despite her family's extensive pool of wealth.

Aside from the wooden furniture, there was a lush armchair next to the bookcase, upholstered in quilted pink fabric. There was a soft chair at the desk, of course, and lastly, a reclining couch that Zelda used to spend hours on reading.

Though she'd remembered her room clearly, she'd forgotten the air it carried, something sweet and relaxing yet utterly regal at the same time. Zelda immediately felt ashamed. This was the room of a princess, not a Zelda.

In that moment, Zelda missed her mother, fervently. She looked up at the ceiling at the crystal chandelier hanging there, taking comfort in the momentary clinking of the crystals together. When she was little, she thought that, when the light shone through the crystals and made rainbows on the walls, they were smiles and kisses sent to her by her mother.

"I miss you right now, mom," she whispered softly, then looked away from the chandelier and instead to one of the few photographs on the bookshelves.

There was a young woman captured in that instant, sitting in a meadow of dandelions and smiling. She was leaning on her arm, an unopened picnic basket sitting next to her. Her hair was lighter than Zelda's; a soft blond, but long and beautiful, wildly tousled and curly, rather unlike Zelda's own semi-curled locks. However, these soft ringlet curls were gorgeous, framing her beautiful face elegantly. She was wearing a simple white classic sundress, barely hiding her slowly-swelling belly. She was smiling at the camera, her free hand moving up as though to cover the lens from the goofy photographer. Zelda had often dreamed about that smile, thought what it might be like to have that smile directed at her, or what it might be to be held in those pale arms. The woman in the picture was thin, but not skinny- delicate, healthy.

It had been a shock and a disaster to all when she had died in childbirth.

Zelda shook her head, then turned around from the bookshelf. She was just depressing herself. Sighing, she threw the sheer pink curtains back from the French doors out onto her balcony and stepped out, the cool winter air tickling her nose. She walked to the edge of the balcony and leaned out against the thick black metal railing, in part glad to be in her own room and on her own balcony again, yet in part missing the salty sea air of her other home.

Home….. She turned, leaning back against the railing, and stared up at the massive orange stucco house. Shaking her head and coming to a decision, she smiled.

This house was her house, but her home was more than two hours away, in a little Victorian house out by the ocean. The one thing about this house that belonged to her was her room, and her….

_I'd forgotten about that_, Zelda inwardly exclaimed, and rushed into her room. She remembered discovering, several weeks after arriving at the Tudor house, that she'd forgotten to pack it, but since then, it had only occurred to her a few times.

She threw open the doors of the armoire and pushed through the clothing rack of designer clothes down to the bottom of the armoire, where, behind the many shoes that Zelda had hardly ever worn, there was a faded wooden box with a strange insignia embossed upon the hard, flat panel of the top. Zelda reverently pulled the box out, marveling at how it hadn't even gotten dusty in her absence, courtesy of the maid. Zelda threw the pillows off of the bed (the maid wouldn't like it) and set the box down in the middle, hopping up to sit on the delicate silks and satins cross legged. She pushed on the embossed top, pressing the insignia in, causing a small cylindrical knob to pop out from where it was nearly hidden in the front of the box. Holding her breath, Zelda turned the knob three times to the right, twice to the left, once again to the right, five times more to the left, and pushed in the tiny knob -her aunt had shown her how this was done, as the box was a family heirloom, passed down from oldest daughter to oldest daughter. As Zelda pushed the knob back into the wood, where it blended perfectly, there came the soft "click" of the latch within undoing, and Zelda opened the lid.

The inside of the box was lined in royal purple velvet- in the top of the box hung a golden locket embossed with the same insignia that adorned the top of the box. Carefully, Zelda removed the delicate golden locket and clasped the chain around her neck, hiding it below her hoodie. Her aunt had told Zelda to keep this locket safe, and Zelda decided that it would be safest with her.

There was another item of curiosity within the box, and Zelda carefully, reverently pulled it out. She'd spent a long time turning this item over in her hands, trying to figure out what it meant, but no knowledge, no sudden enlightenment or epiphany had ever come to her.

It was very old- Zelda wasn't sure, but she thought her aunt had told her that it went all the way back before the middle ages, possibly even longer. She couldn't remember exactly. Zelda's aunt had told her that it was half of an old sacred object, the instrument that had once belonged to a hero that quested all through his time to free the kingdom that they were part of from tyranny. Zelda's aunt had never said how it had come to be in the family, even when she asked- she claimed that she didn't know, and that the knowledge had been lost long before her time.

Normally, Zelda would have point-blank refused to take such a ludicrous story as the truth, but there was something about this halved instrument that made it totally believable to her. It was blue, breathtakingly so, even after so many years of existence. It had ripples of lighter blue on it, as though it had sat in the water for a long time underneath the sun, or as though it was trying to mirror the light water cast on walls itself. If Zelda didn't know better, she would have said it glowed, but that was probably from the light shine it reflected from the rainbows cast from the crystal chandelier.

"The pipes of light," her aunt had called them. Zelda turned the pipes over in her hand again, studying it carefully. It had been cleaved down the center, and the mouthpiece had apparently gone with the back half. All that was in the front were seven small holes, which Zelda imagined would be used to play the different notes on the instrument. She turned over the front of the pipes and looked carefully at the back, which was the same astounding color as the front, testifying that it was naturally such a striking blue. Zelda assumed it was the clay or porcelain or whatever it had been used to make the pipes. Neither her nor her aunt knew what the material was made of.

In the back of the pipes was set a small inscription, scratched there from long ago. She couldn't read it- it was in a strange text, runes or hieroglyphs of some sort.

"Can your read these?" Zelda had asked her aunt. The older woman's eyes had glimmered and she'd merely smiled.

"Maybe." And she'd said nothing more on the subject.

Sighing, Zelda set the pipes down on her bed and looked at the inside of the box. She didn't remember ever getting the feeling before, but something about the box seemed odd, something she'd never noticed before. True, the lid was thick, but that was because of the puzzle within. It just seemed to Zelda, though, that the box wasn't as deep as it should be, nor as wide as it should be; however, that may have been an illusion created by the velvet.

Carefully, she touched the purple velvet lining the box. Odd, she thought. This box was old, and so was the velvet, but it was still crisp, despite its age. She put the box down before her, the pipes on her lap, and grabbed a pillow, leaning it against the footboard. She sighed, staring at the small mountain of pillows in front of her, wondering. Absently, she continued to turn the box in her hands, running her fingers all across the wood, when something stopped her. Cautiously, she turned the box over, looking carefully at the bottom. Where had it been…

_There._

She remembered it upon seeing it, but had her fingers not happened to run across it, she would never have noticed it. It was a miniature copy of the insignia in the top of the box, carved into the upper left corner of the bottom of the box.

And suddenly, an idea budded in her head. A crazy, insane, improbable idea, but hey, it had been done in movies, right? Blood rushing, Zelda removed the locket from her neck, scrutinizing the image. If she was right…

_Yes!_ The two different insignias were the same sizes.

Hardly daring to breathe, Zelda gently pushed the locket into the bottom of the box, matching up the locket and the carving like two pieces in a puzzle.

The telltale _click_ told her that she'd been right. She gasped as the bottom of the box fell out, revealing an empty chamber.

In the bottom of the box was a fat book, an old book, with yellowed pages and something strange about it. Zelda knew on first glance that this book was something impossibly important, and as much as she yearned to flip through the pages and uncover their knowledge for herself, she chanced a glance at the clock and sighed. She needed to go down to lunch in five minutes, and she couldn't afford to be tardy- if there was one thing her father abhorred, it was a disruption to his daily routine. So, yearning, Zelda closed the bottom of the box, placed the pipes within their resting place in the compartment, then, after a moment of thought, removed the locket as well and hung it back up on the velvet top of the box. Mourning, she closed the lid, making sure the box was locked on both ends, and placed it in the very bottom of the back of her armoire.

Then, sighing, she changed, and then trooped down to meet the Tudors plus her father for lunch.

-

Zelda straightened out her pink designer dress, smoothing invisible wrinkles in the skirt as she pulled at the button-up sweater tighter around her. The dress was cold, but her father had always told her that she looked lovely in this dress. And since he was her father and it was the first time she was seeing him in half a year, Zelda figured she might as well be cold.

"Where'd the grunge go?" Link blurted out suddenly from where he was sitting next to her- Zelda was at the foot of the table, Link to her right, Jayda to her left.

"While I'm here, I have to look the part," she explained. "Don't say anything about me being anything less than a lady while you're here, especially in front of my father."

"What about-"

"Ssh," Impa shushed him. "Be respectful."

"Zelda!"

She couldn't have ever forgotten that booming voice, but at that moment, she didn't care. There was warmth in it, his tone saying he had missed her, even though he'd never called.

"Dad…" Zelda turned in her seat and stood, meeting her father face to face for the first time in months.

She was shocked to see that he had aged… had he always had so many wrinkles? Had he always looked so tired? But his eyes were sparkling, startling compared to his normally stoic self, and he took in his daughter his mouth smiling from underneath the graying red beard he sported. His hair was red, too, but with several thick gray streaks in it. Still cut reasonably as ever, Zelda thought, and she also noticed that her father had lost some weight.

"You're looking well," she said, smiling at him. All her emotions- anger, hatred, sadness, loneliness, welled up in that instant, but she didn't care. He was still her father, and she still loved him, even though he'd done her several wrongs.

"As are you, my dear." He embraced her briefly, then stepped back. "You've grown."

"Perhaps," Zelda offered. "Or maybe you're shrinking."

"Your tongue is as quick as ever, I see," he noted, though the soft smile on his face betrayed the disparagement in his words. "The house has been slightly duller without your presence, Zelda. I've missed you."

"I've missed you too, Dad."

Was he feeling well? He would never have shown any emotion such as this before any of his other colleagues, or anyone else for that matter, save for the most intimate of family members, the last of which had died Zelda's first day of life. Yet here he was in front of one of his workers, his worker's wife and three children, hugging his daughter and talking of emotions.

Things had certainly changed in Zelda's absence.

"Haft, Impa." Richard Harkinian turned from his daughter to the two he had appointed to watch over his child. "You've taken good care of my girl. How've you two dogs been doing?"

"We've been doing well, Rich," Haft said.

Wait a second. Rich? Obviously, the two knew each other better than Zelda had been informed.

"Well, tell me about it over lunch. Ah, and these are your children. Link, I assume," Haft nodded at the young man, who smiled unsteadily, "and these two little beauties must be Saria and Jayda."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," they chimed in unison, Jayda looking very serious, Saria as though she were about to crack up. Zelda's father smiled vaguely, then seated himself at the head of the table, Haft at his right, Impa at his left.

"So, tell me," Richard began to speak with Haft, "how have things been…."

-

It had been, all in all, a very exhausting day, and Zelda was sinking into her bed when she remembered the book. Though her eyes were drooping with exhaustion, she sat up from her sheets, swinging her feet out underneath her and searching for an opening in the curtains to free herself from her silk and lace prison. At last, she found it, an exited the bed, grabbing a flashlight from one drawer on her bedside table, and slowly, she crept to the armoire, opening it and finding the box in the dark. Then, she crept back to her bed, shutting the drapes securely behind her and opening up the box, grabbing the locket, and opening the bottom compartment. She reached in and grabbed the thick little book- it felt as though it was leather bound, with parchment paper? How odd. Propping her flashlight up on a pillow, she began to read.

_If you have discovered this book, you have discovered the compartment in which it lies, and are about to learn a new family secret, something massive and changing that can not be told by mouth but only by paper. This is the written word, copied down for generations by every fifth daughter, every Zelda, and so I submit to tradition as my ancestral duty so honorably demands of my person._

_ I am the ninety-fifth daughter, Zelda XXI, and it is the year 1861 anno domini. My country, __America__, is on the verge of civil war, and I am afraid that this knowledge and the family artifact will be lost in the war by some terrible accident, whether by flame or by theft. However, I give faith to those that guide me, the goddesses that have helped the women of our family for so many thousands of years, and so I will tell the story of our line._

_ Roughly in the year 400 anno domini, there was a great and prosperous kingdom called Hyrule. Hyrule was a calm land, a quiet and peaceful place where disaster rarely struck. There was a royal line that ruled the land, a royal monarchy 'cursed' to only having daughters for heirs- however, these daughters were the wisest women Hyrule could ever have hoped to encountered. The story of this line is our story, a story of pain, struggle for life, magic, and above all, pure love and friendship._

Zelda stared at the page in front of her.

"This has got to be some hokey joke," she stated aloud to herself. "It has to be." But she read on.

_You may doubt my words now, but I promise, daughter, that very soon you will understand all, believe all, and though the shadows in the dark may stretch longer, your mind will be wiser and your heart stronger._

_To first understand the stories, you must understand the religious history that lay behind it. When the earth was little more than a godless hunk of rock floating in the emptiness of its own nothingness, the three golden goddesses descended from their heavenly realm, also known as the sacred realm, and breathed life and beauty into the desolate land. These three goddesses were called Din, goddess of power, Nayru, goddess of wisdom, and Faore, goddess of courage. Din, with her strong flaming arms, cultivated the land and created the red earth. Nayru poured her spirit into the earth and gave wisdom and law to the land. And lastly, Faore, with her rich soul, produced all the life that was to uphold the law. The three great goddesses, their labors completed, ascended to the heavens. At the point where they departed, the triforce was born, a symbol of their powers- three golden triangles who embodied each goddess. One was power. One was wisdom. One was courage. These sacred triangles and the worship of them was the basis on which our world was first formed; by our world, I mean not the planet earth but the country that all noble blood springs from, Hyrule._

There was a sketch of the triforce in the margin, and for a moment, Zelda had to stop and stare. Then she looked at the top of the box- the large insignia at the top had three triangles on it. And hadn't her Halloween costume also carried the theme of three triangles? But that was probably just coincidence…

Zelda was very confused. But still, she continued reading, the story drawing her deeper and deeper on.

She didn't sleep at all that night for reading.

-

_Saturday, February 12, 2005_

_9:21 PM Central_

**A/N:** You guys have no earthly idea how much I love you to go through and edit this tonight and publish it tonight. I just got home from an all day dance competition with my drill team, and I am about to collapse. Literally. I was actually about to crawl into bed when I was like "oh, wait, I have to update, don't I……"

I know most of you don't care, but for those of you who do, here's what's been up with my life. If you don't want to hear about it, skip to the next paragraph. Honestly, I don't care. But anyway! I got a question about football season, and I will tell you now that it was so much fun but so incredibly exhausting. Like, honestly, each week felt like three, and Fridays were the worst. I had to get up at the crack of dawn each morning, sometimes before, get completely ready for school and practice, go to actual dance practice, and then dance for often upwards of three hours, then quickly change and run to class and try not to pass out from sheer exhaustion. When I got home at night, it was basely all that I could do to complete my homework- the writing thing was completely not happening then. Then, about halfway through football season, working on a streamer jazz routine, I knocked my hip and it continued to hurt so bad that I had to go to the doctor, and I found out that I'd dislocated my pelvis, which added to my list of crap to deal with. That actually wasn't cured until just a few weeks ago, and I was in intensive therapy three times a week every week, sometimes even four. My pelvis will still dislocate itself at times (bad joints) but I can put it back in place and take care of the pain, for the most part. So that put me out of dancing, but I still had to go to practices and games and stuff. I had a buttload of stuff to do before finals… then the day after finals, we left to go to Arkansas. And it sucked. We got stranded in the snow and had to spend the night in the car in REALLY COLD weather, especially as I'm a heat-loving Texan girl so it was absolutely awful. I got home and turned around and left two days later for the cotton bowl with the drill team, where we practiced nonstop the first day, went shopping the second day, and went to medieval times on new years' eve, which has inspired something that's going to happen in a later chapter, or possibly another fanfic, depends on which I can pull off better. And then I danced at the cotton bowl and came home. School was fine, started writing again because life was EASY, but then a family friend died and my cat came down with diabetes, which has been a lot for me to handle, and my boyfriend finally snapped so I had to break up with him. Now, we're entering the season for our spring show in dance, which is defitinely going to be a time eater so don't expect a bi-weekly basis for updates because I would die, not to mention I have grades to keep up. And, of course, contest today, which was from really early in the morning to just like an hour ago, and I'm about to die. But wow, this was a long ramble. Back on the topic of the story.

Ummm… I can't really think of much. I know the whole ancestral whatnot thing is pretty hokey, but I did want to tie this Zelda AU to the game somehow, else it feels like cheating which is awful and makes me sad- stealing characters and then not tying them to their original formy thing. Whatever. So this particular little chapter is my tribute to Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and chaos will most certainly ensue for our hero and heroine concerning this particular turn of events. Mwahaha. I've actually written a lot ahead, and I think you'll all be pleased with the way that I've worked it into the story- it's not like a completely life changing thing, just a freaky "corpses in the closet" kind of thing, I suppose. I don't know, stuff happens. Lots of stuff.

Wow, I'm so tired. I'm going to shut up and stop rambling and definitely post this now. Any questions/concerns/compliments/complaints, feel free to drop me a review OR an email or even IM me, if I'm on. If. Anywho, I'll see you all around!

Love,

Me.


	17. Past, Present, and Sterling

**Seventeen :**** Past, Present, and ****Sterling**

The next morning, Zelda had to do something she really, really,_ really_ didn't want to do.

"Yo, Zel?" It was Link knocking at her door. She sighed, leaning around the entrance to the bathroom to yell a "come in!"

"Where are you? Are you decent?"

"I'm decent," replied Zelda from her oversized bathroom as she dabbed concealer under her eyes, disguising the massive black bags there.

"What're you doing?"

She grumbled her reply. "Putting on makeup." Link peered around the bathroom door, and stopped, staring.

"_Makeup_?" he asked, incredulous. "Since when do you wear _makeup_?"

"Since I've lived here." Satisfied at the disguise of the massive purplish bags below her violet eyes, she moved on to smudge foundation across her cheeks, nose, forehead, and chin with a spongy wedge. "I always have to look my best. Thus, makeup."

"Uh huh." He looked her up and down, raising his eyebrows as she began to lightly dust her cheeks with blush. "That stuff's vile, I hope you know."

"I know." She pulled down her lower lid and began to apply eyeliner, earning a disgusted exclamation from Link. Zelda sighed at the distraction. She was too tired for this. "You can sit on the bed and wait, if you want. I'll be done in just a minute."

"Alrighty." Link sauntered out of Zelda's line of vision, and she heard the squeak of him plopping down on her bed, which was still unmade from the night before. "Hey, what's this?"

"What's what?" Zelda carefully applied mascara to her lashes, then removed the globs with a tiny comb.

"This box. It looks really old…"

"It's a jewelry box," Zelda lied flawlessly. "It belonged to my mother, and her mother before her. It's a family heirloom, of sorts. Don't bother trying to open it," she added. "It's a puzzle box."

"Uh huh. What's this weird insignia on the top?"

Zelda poked her head out of the bathroom, hair hanging in its sloppy ponytail all around her face.

"Must you ask so many questions?"

"Yep." Link smacked his lips.

Sighing in frustration and rolling her eyes, Zelda returned her full body to the bathroom and let her hair down from its ponytail, brushing it through and then styling the front pieces of it up behind her ear with a flowered clip, something she had never enjoyed; however, her father liked it, so she did it for him. "Is there any particular reason why you came to bother me first thing in the morning? It's only…" Zelda glanced at the wall clock in the bathroom, "seven forty-five. You're normally not up this early, even for school."

"Ah, couldn't sleep all that well," Link said. "I woke up around six and… I was awake. So I've been sitting around for a while, then I figured I'd come and bug you, since Dad's still unconscious and Mom's getting the girls ready."

"Mmmm. Did your room suit you?" She carefully applied some light pink eye shadow. Very carefully. She didn't want to look like Paris Hilton, after all…

"It's nice," Link exhaled. "Really. I feel so spoiled, and I have my own room even though it's not my house, and the girls have their own room, and my parents have their own room… how many rooms does this place have again?"

"In the main wing, which is what we're in, there are about thirty rooms per floor, two floors of rooms, then there's some guest cabins out back for people who prefer to be separated, you know, weird business men and stuff, and then there's another wing for the live-in servants. They're kept nicely furnished, too," Zelda added as she applied some light pink lip gloss, smacking her lips. "This house was basically built for the sole purpose of entertaining guests. If there's one thing Dad does well, it's that he tries to look after everybody in his house. Note that he doesn't always succeed. That's why he sent me away." Zelda poked her head out of the bathroom again, hair swinging around her in curtains. "Because I'm a teenaged girl and he has no idea how to deal with me, and I don't get on well with the servants."

"Why's that?" Link was toying with the lacy trim on the edge of the blankets, not looking at her.

"I don't know. We've never really gotten along, I guess. They think I'm a spoiled princess or something." She shrugged, then retreated back into the bathroom, examining herself in the massive mirrors once more. "That's just the way things have always been here. Do you think I look tired?" Zelda stepped out of the bathroom, scratching the back of her neck as Link took her in. Her dress was long, coming to about mid-shin, and though on some girls this would have looked odd, it looked good on her. The fabric was a soft, rich purple satin, with a pink ribbon that accentuated the imperial waistline, tying in the back just below her shoulder blades. Above the dress was a soft cream colored designer jacket, and her hair was clipped back half up, falling around her like a waving curtain.

"You look nice," Link said, examining her. "Not tired at all."

"That's a relief." Zelda exhaled, then blew a strand of hair out of her face as she pried the box from Link's grip and deposited it in the back of the armoire. "I hate having my hair down. It's so, so…. I don't know. But it's something."

"It looks good, though," Link stated, grinning at her. "I mean, not that it looks bad up, but having it down is a nice change, too."

"Mmph." Zelda grunted at him, then closed her eyes, rolling her shoulders back, and inhaling deep. As she exhaled and opened her eyes, she smiled. "Let's go down to breakfast. Dad may already be down there. At least the breakfast regime isn't as strict as lunch or dinner," she added. She turned to Link, smiling at him. He looked so…. Link- green baseball cap, green hoodie, faded blue jncos that were ripped up in several spots.

"I feel underdressed," he said, catching her eye looking him up and down.

"Don't worry about it," she said gently, brushing a strand of hair from her eyes. "You look fine. I just have to look and act the part of perfect daughter, especially since there's guests here and all right now. Honestly, nobody'll care about you, really. Worst case scenario, I say you're a young, up-and-coming drummer in the next big band. They'd accept you then, if they didn't already."

"Mmmmhm." Link seemed to be thinking as Zelda led him from the room, down the labyrinth of hallways to the massive, ostentatious stairway. "Hey Zelda?"

"Yeah?"

"Why the need to impress?"

She sighed, closing her eyes. "That's just the way things are in this world, Link. Think of it like poker, if that makes sense."

"Poker?" His face contorted into an expression of confusion, then acceptance. "Poker. Gotcha."

"Not strip poker, mind you," Zelda added with a laugh, pushing open the doors to the breakfast corner. "Just regular poker. Like celebrity poker."

"Mmmmhm."

Zelda's father wasn't down at breakfast- in fact, it was only Link and Zelda who were down there, as well as one other person.

"Audrey!" Zelda left Link at once and sprinted over to the young woman seated by herself by a window. She turned and smiled, beautiful face so like the one in the picture that Zelda kept on her bookshelf, yet different- her hair was closer to brown, and wavy rather than corkscrew curly. The eyes, however, were the same, and so were the soft smiles and rose petal lips.

"Zelda!" The woman rose at once to take her niece into her arms, holding on tightly. "Oh, Zelda, I've missed you!"

"I've missed you too," Zelda replied, hugging her aunt tightly. Audrey was the first to step back, her hand on her niece's shoulder. "You've grown."

"You've shrunk," Zelda replied, turning her head sideways. "I can almost see over your head now!" This earned a laugh from the slightly taller woman, who then turned her beautiful blue eyes on Link. "And who is this, Zelda?"

"Oh. Ahm," Zelda cleared her throat, looking to Link as well and marching over to him, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him over. "Link, I want you to meet my aunt, Audrey. She's the one I've told you so much about. Audrey, this is Link. His parents are the ones who took me in. Remember, I told you about them on the phone when you called?"

"Ah, yes, of course." Audrey held out her hand and took Link's, shaking it. "It's lovely to meet you, Link."

"Er, you too, Miss…"

"Call me Audrey, please. Everyone does."

"Audrey, then."

Zelda beamed as she looked between the two, Audrey's smiling face and Link's mildly surprised one.

"Erhm, Aunt…" Zelda cleared her throat, "I've got something that needs discussing with you after breakfast…." Zelda lightly touched two fingers to where the golden locket would lie around her neck, and Audrey nodded in understanding.

"I see." She smiled, her eyes crinkling, and sat down. "Eat with me. Tell me how your life has been. And Link, I want to hear about you, too. Any friend of Zelda's is a friend of mine, too."

-

Zelda and Audrey parted ways with Link after breakfast, the two women trooping up to Zelda's room, which one of the maids had magically cleaned in her absence. Zelda opened her armoire and drew out the box as Audrey sat down on the reclining couch. Zelda deposited the box in her aunt's lap, then walked quickly over to the door and turned the old school key in its lock.

"Explain this to me," Zelda said, taking a seat next to the brunette.

"It's a family heirloom," stated Audrey vaguely. "Why?"

"Explain this, then," Zelda replied simply, opening the box and drawing out the locket.

"That's the family locket. Are you getting at something, Zelda?"

"Yes," Zelda replied, shutting the lid of the box and carefully turning it over, its content within, the ocarina, secure in its purple velvet chamber. Carefully, Zelda pressed in the locket to the small insignia on the bottom, and watched Audrey's reaction carefully as the bottom of the box dropped out, revealing the journal within. Zelda held up the journal, waving it before Audrey's eyes.

"Explain this to me."

"You've found it, then," Audrey mused, smiling. "Good for you. Did you read it?"

"Cover to cover, but I'm more lost than I was before I read it."

"Perfect!" Audrey clapped her hands together, smiling.

"Why's that so good? I'm confused," Zelda mumbled.

"But you believe it, which is the first step to accepting it as the truth."

"How can I accept it? How can I possibly even begin to believe it?" Zelda asked, dropping the book on the table. "It's sheer madness! I mean, why on earth should I believe that I am descended from a line of royal women who had magic powers and carried an embodiment of some random obscure pagan goddess in their minds, who they could hear with their pointy elf ears? I mean, it's nonsensical, it's confusing, there's no common sense in it at all, no common links, no logic, nothing. It's like a fairytale that someone on LSD would make up. It just… it doesn't make sense!" Zelda had been pacing back and forth, but she stopped to face her aunt. "I don't want to believe it. I really don't. But I want to understand it, so explain it to me."

"I'm afraid I can't do that," Audrey said sadly. "When your mother Aileen died, her knowledge was lost, and our mother had passed not long before she had, so I knew nothing. All the knowledge left of our kind is encased in that book and within you."

"Within me?" Zelda gave a little snort, then shook her head. "I don't see how I could know something I've never heard before."

"You don't know it yet." Audrey smiled, then exhaled. "But you will soon. That book is no ordinary book. Look at the back of your left hand."

Startled, Zelda looked down at the pale flesh there.

"I don't see anything." She scowled up at her aunt. "This is just a really sick joke."

"Look again, and look closely." Audrey's voice was soft but authoritative, and Zelda knew that to do anything other than obey her would be a great insult to the older woman. So, inwardly grumbling, she looked down at her left hand, scrutinizing it. There was nothing special about it- it was just another left hand like any other left hand….

….. wait a minute…

"There's something on my hand. It looks like a light bruise, or a really pale birthmark…"

"Touch it, but carefully," Audrey advised. Fascinated, Zelda obeyed. It felt warm, warmer than the rest of her hand.

"This is so weird," Zelda stated.

"Want to be freaked out more?" Audrey asked, grinning. "Fist your hand, bend your arm up, and slap the bruise."

Feeling rather silly, Zelda complied, and was immediately blinded as a flash of light filled the room. After a moment it cleared, but one thing remained imprinted in her mind… the three triangles she'd seen sketched in the book, the triforce.

"What…" Zelda was confused. Really confused. "What was that?"

"That was the triforce of wisdom," Audrey answered, removing her hand from where she'd moved it to shield her eyes. "It has embodied itself in you now."

It was too much. "Why me? I'm nobody special. You're playing mind games with me, aren't you?"

"No," Audrey answered gravely. "I'm not. I may be the second daughter, but I'm not ignorant in the way of our line, and I know what you are and who you will become. Every fifth generation, or every generation of daughters named "Zelda", the triforce of wisdom becomes manifest. The Zelda who wrote the copy of the lore, Zelda XXI, relinquished the triforce of wisdom when she recopied the words. She was young when she did, but she was afraid that she would die during the war, and her daughter needed a way to carry on the knowledge. Now the triforce has manifest in you."

"But…" Zelda was lost, in a state of near hysteria. Her aunt, her beloved aunt, was crazy. "This isn't possible! There's no such thing as magic or goddesses or the triforce. It's all hallucinations, all tricks of the light… all… all…"

"Zelda." Audrey's voice was something akin to a cold slap in her beloved niece's face. "You must listen. You may not believe what you have read just yet, but you must accept it. It is part of who you are, and attempting to deny this is like attempting to deny that you have arms or legs or a heart. You must accept it." Audrey rose, and for a moment, Zelda hated this woman before her. "It is something that we all have had to learn to accept," Audrey stated coldly. "When you have come to be more open minded about your heritage and are willing to learn, you'll find me in the library. I'll be ready to explain to you everything that I know, but until then, do not seek me out to waste my time with your denials. You have much that you need to learn, and I can only teach you as best I can. You need your mother for this," Audrey seemed furious now, and Zelda didn't know why, "but she's not around, so this is going to be difficult for both of us. You can't give up on who you are, Zelda, and if you even try, you will sorely regret it."

Audrey left the room, leaving Zelda cold and alone. Silently, the young woman stared at the small book before her, thinking hard. Again, she looked to the back of her left hand. It just… it wasn't possible. It couldn't be possible. Sighing angrily, Zelda shoved the bottom of the box back and all but threw it into the bottom of her armoire and then, angrily snapping the locket around her neck, went to wander around down in the garden and possibly throw things into the lagoon shaped pool.

_God_ she was pissed.

Of course, it was just her typical luck that, descending the massive, ritzy staircase, she should crash into none other than Jarrett Wiles, possibly one of her very least favorite people on the planet. Too bad he was the son of a famous actor anyhow, and therefore Zelda had to put up with his company.

"Zelda!" He bounded up the rest of the way up the stairs, stopping just below her and bowing, acting every bit the debonair bachelor. "How have you been, my dear?"

Jarrett Wiles was attractive to many- however, Zelda did not include herself in that category. He was well muscled, tanned from so many hours working in the sun, but only about an inch taller than Zelda. His hair was brown, bleached blond from, again, the sun, kept short and spiked. He wore only the best clothes, and Zelda inwardly wrinkled her nose as she thought about how much those clothes must have cost.

Zelda gritted her teeth, forcing herself to accept the fact that, now that she was home, she had to play the socialite once more, looking into Jarrett's not-so-bright brown eyes as she answered his query.

"I've been fine," she replied sweetly. "How are you?"

"I'm good. Let's go for a walk in the garden."

"I was just on my way." Zelda forced herself to sound pleasant, the old acting skills resurfacing. "I assume you're not too busy?" Ah, the beauty of eloquence.

Please be busy, please be busy.

"Nope. Though, I do have a friend that I was going to get, I hope you won't mind if he accompanies us…"

"Not at all," Zelda replied sweetly. He'd always been so damn insistent on courting her, she mused, that a friend of his would be a welcome distraction from his smothering attentions.

"Great. Hang on a minute and I'll go get him- I was headed up to fetch him anyway. I hope you don't mind waiting a minute…"

"Be my guest." Zelda seated herself delicately on the landing at the top of the stairs, her skirts pooling around her as she watched Jarrett hurrying up the next flight to the next floor of rooms.

_I could just run away right now,_ she told herself. _Ride the railing down the stairs, run up the back case and hide in the library and get Audrey to explain everything to me_. But that would be bad etiquette, and in her father's house, etiquette still ruled all. Plus, she was angry, though acting and smiling on the outside had provided some small stress relief in causing her to displace her troubles, saving them for later.

_I should be an actress._

It was just moments later when Jarrett came back down the stairs, friend in tow. Upon glancing at his face, Zelda had to remind herself to breathe.

He was everything that Jarrett wasn't- tall, pale, composed. His hair was longer than Jarrett's, but not as long as Link's wild shag; short, soft brown curls framed the edges of his face, offsetting his intense green eyes. His features were sculpted, reminding Zelda of a Grecian statue, perfect in every way.

_Wow, _she said inwardly_. Wow_.

"Zelda, I want you to meet my friend, Sterling Brûlure. Sterling, this is Zelda. You know about her already."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." He had the lightest of accents, Zelda couldn't place it- he sounded French, but British, his quiet voice chocolate to the ears. He extended his hand in her direction.

_Wow._

"The same could be said of you… is it alright if I call you Sterling?" She took his hand, his large digits engulfing her small ones, and Zelda noted from the callouses on his fingers that he must play a stringed instrument.

"Quite alright." He kissed the back of her hand, and then released her palm. "I understand that it is your father who owns this beautiful house?"

"Yes," Zelda said, trying not to sound breathy. "I hope you've found the accommodations suitable."

"Quite, miss."

_Be still, thy beating heart!_

"Hah, Sterling, always so formal. So, Zelda," Jarrett began, beaming between Sterling and Zelda, "shall we go down to the garden now?"

"Absolutely," she said, for once being glad that Jarrett had ever been born. "Have you already been through yet?"

"No," Jarrett said. "Sterling and I only arrived last night."

"Your dad's not here?" She was feeling so generous, she even took the arm that was offered her as they walked down the stairs together.

"Not yet. He's still at a shoot, but he's expected to arrive before the wedding."

"Really? He's filming again? I thought he'd retired."

"A good actor never retires." Jarrett laughed lightly, and shook his head. "He's playing the role of a father. His daughter is Reese Witherspoon."

"Really? Have you met her?" Zelda couldn't stop the eagerness seeping into her voice.

"Yeah. She's pretty cool. Sterling met her too. Right, Sterling?"

"Yes. She seemed nice."

"Jarrett, you never told me about Sterling on any of your previous visits here," Zelda said. "How long have you two known each other?"

"He moved here a bit more than half a year ago, I think… is that right?"

"That's right."

"And anyway, we just kind of hit it off. Sterling's mother is a music producer, and Sterling wants to go into performing."

"Performing?" Zelda turned her eyes on Sterling.

"Acting," he said. His voice was so soft, like an intimate caress, yet so deep… "or I want to join a symphony and play my viola."

"You play viola?" Zelda asked, surprised. He didn't look the type.

"And he sings," Jarrett added. And then, to Sterling, "Zelda plays bass, and sings some as well."

"Bass guitar," she replied, and then added, modestly, "I'm not very good."

"Maybe you'll play for us later?" Jarrett asked hopefully. "And sing? You sing like an angel."

She blushed. "Maybe."

They reached the doors to the granite patio and stepped out, the chill December air biting around Zelda's ankles and swirling up her legs, underneath her skirts. She kept herself from shivering, though, and instead led Jarrett and Sterling down a set of stone stairs, to a gate beyond the lagoon shaped pool.

"Jarrett said you just moved half a year ago?" Zelda carefully undid the latch on the garden gate, pushing it open and leading the two young men in.

"Yes," Sterling affirmed, stepping into the garden behind Zelda and looking around. "From England. And before that, I was in France. Both my parents are French."

"Wow," Zelda said. That explained the accent. "Did you enjoy living in England?"

"Yes," Sterling said. "Sometimes I do miss it, as I spent nearly half my life there. But we moved, and I have accepted it, and am grateful that this new place has so many opportunities for me."

"I went to England once," Zelda said. "It was always cold and dreary, it seemed."

"Yes, it often was." Sterling laughed, then shook his head. "Not paradise weather, very unlike this beautiful California, but I loved it anyway."

"Give me sunshine and beaches any day," Jarrett said bouncing about on the balls of his toes and looking around the garden. "Pity it's winter. The garden's really cool when it's in bloom."

"My mother knew about winter," Zelda replied, leading the two boys through the pathways of seemingly dead plants. "When she planned this garden, she planned for all weather."

"Clever woman," stated Jarrett.

"Yes," Zelda replied with a nod, leading the boys down a fork in the path. "Very clever."

"So, Zelda," Jarrett began. "We came to visit a while back, and you were nowhere to be found. Your dad said you were away?"

"Yeah," Zelda replied, sighing inwardly. How to explain… "My father and I decided that it would be good for me to experience life as a normal teenager for a while, so I was put in the care of some family friends, with whom I'll be living with until I graduate high school."

"You weren't sent away, I hope?" Jarrett sounded as though it were a light joke, though she knew if she slipped up once, mis-worded one thing, it would be the hottest gossip about how nice little Zelda had been kicked out of her home, which she hadn't been.

"Not in the least. My father wanted me to broaden myself and my experiences, yet still be close to home."

"Where are you located?"

"Down south," Zelda replied vaguely. "About an hour away from Hollywood. On the beach."

"Beach-side mansion?" It was Sterling's question. "Like a retreat, of sorts, or a boarding school?"

"Family friends, nice big old house," Zelda replied. "It's older than most of the other houses and the city that surrounds it, with a few exceptions." She turned another corner and stopped. "Here we are."

The landscaping in this particular area of the garden was beautiful, natural; bushes that bloomed in the winter, soft, carefully tended winter flowers. Jasmine crept up the trunk and branches of large weeping willows, and were it not for the chill, Zelda would have believed that it was summer in this little corner of the garden. "What do you think?"

"It's nice," Jarrett said, looking around.

"Your mother must have been a wonderful woman," Sterling added, also looking around. "This is lovely."

"Yes," Zelda agreed with a nod as she sat down on a cold stone bench. "It is."

"Too bad my mom never did anything," Jarrett stated. "Just sat around the house, had the maids wait on her hand and foot, and then occasionally yelled at Dad. I'm glad he divorced her, even if it put him in _The Enquirer_ for a month."

"Dirty dogs, all of them," Zelda muttered. "Sometimes, the press really is out of control."

"They're just trying to earn a living," Sterling stated. "Like anyone else." Zelda shivered, and Sterling noticed. "Are you cold?"

"A little," Zelda allowed herself to admit. It was an understatement- she was frozen to the tips of her toes, the dress holding in little warmth against the unusually cold Californian winter.

"Let's go in, then," Jarrett said, hopping in where Sterling had left off. "We can all get hot cocoa."

Zelda allowed Sterling to help her from her seat on the stone bench, and, still talking quietly, the three teenagers made their way back into the house.

Jarrett had gotten better, Zelda decided. He wasn't as intolerable as he'd always been. She didn't like him, but she didn't hate him- maybe she and he would be able to become friends, for once?

And then there was Sterling.

He was very quiet, Zelda noted, only interjecting with well thought-out things when there was a break in Jarrett's babble. Zelda herself contributed only when necessary, not minding that Jarrett was carrying the whole conversation on his back. When they reached the kitchen at last, it was only Sterling that looked composed- even Jarrett had begun to shiver lightly. The three teens asked for a cup of hot cocoa, and, giving Zelda an insolent eye (though neither of the boys noticed) the cook affirmed. The three teens took a seat in the breakfast corner, looking out the window.

"I bet the dogs were happy to see you," Jarrett said, watching as one dog, Julius, snuffled past on the lawn. "They nearly bit Sterling's leg off."

"Did they really?" Zelda sighed, shaking her head. "I hope you're not hurt, Sterling?"

"No, no, I'm fine," he said softly. "They didn't hurt me."

"Here's your cocoa," the cook said, entering into the room with a tray in hand. On the tray were three bowl-sized mugs of hot cocoa, all topped with massive amounts of whipped cream.

"Thank you, Atticus," Zelda said to him, smiling genially. He looked her suspiciously up and down in reply, setting the tray before her, and then walking off.

"This looks good," Jarrett said, licking his lips and reaching for a mug. With very little manners, he slurped the whole thing down, rather reminding Zelda of a dehydrating camel. Sterling, with more dignity, quietly sipped his, and Zelda drank hers, taking in the warmth in the relative silence.

When they were done, Jarrett began to pester Zelda again.

"Let's hear you sing and play bass," he said. "Come on, Zelda, it's been so long since the last time you played for me. Several years."

"I'll just embarrass myself." She knew she wouldn't.

"Please? You won't embarrass yourself."

"Yes I will." She should be an actress.

"I wouldn't mind hearing you sing," Sterling stated, tearing his eyes away from the yard. Zelda heaved a fake sigh, inwardly preening. He'd fallen into her trap! Yay.

"Well, I suppose... Come on, my guitar's upstairs."

She led them up the staircase and into her room, briefly wondering where Link was, and then shrugging it off. He was probably in the lounge, playing videogames or something very typical of him.

"Go ahead and sit down," she said, walking into the bathroom, which in turn led to a large walk-in closet filled with all of Zelda's junk that hadn't gone well with her room. "I'm going to get my amp out."

Zelda had a small collection of amps, a small collection meaning of course two. The kind of crappy older one was at the seaside house she called home- the sparkly expensive one was still up here, at the house. She heaved it out of its corner, dusting it off, and then lugged it into her bedroom, plugging it into a wall socket and then pulling her bass out from where she'd stashed it, beneath her bed. Reverently, she pulled it out from its case, removing the amp cable as well, and then, in addition, she pulled out a nifty little toy she'd bought herself the week before but hadn't had a chance to use, courtesy of finals- guitar effects. She plugged the guitar to the effects to the amp, and took a quick second to tune.

"Let's see…" Zelda thought for a moment, plucking at the strings of her guitar as she debated what to play. Finally, she looked up with a grin. "You should know this song, if you haven't been living with your head in a hole for the past few years…."

"Shoot," said Jarrett, grinning like a wolf.

"Alright then…"

Zelda began to play a steady riff over and over again, and Jarrett shook his head.

"Oh, you're so not…."

And then Zelda began to sing.

"_Man it's a hot one  
Like seven inches from the __midday__ sun  
I hear you whisper and the words melt everyone  
But you stay so cool_

_  
My mu equita my spanish harlem mona lisa  
You're my reason for reason  
The step in my groove_

_ And if you say this life ain't good enough  
I would give my world to lift you up  
I could change my life to better suit your mood  
Cause you're so smooth _

_ And just like the ocean under the moon  
Well that's the same as the emotion that I get from you  
You got the kind of lovin' that can be so smooth  
Gimme your heart make it real  
Or else forget about it …_"

She sang on, her voice seeming to ache as she carried on, hitting that same riff over and over again. When she finished, Jarrett was beaming and Sterling was looking mildly impressed.

"Bravo!" Jarrett clapped, standing up and smiling at Zelda. "Your voice has only gotten better."

"Thanks." Zelda took her guitar off and leaned it against her amp carefully, then brushed a stray hair from her eyes. She looked to Sterling, who immediately looked away from her. Zelda's lips twisted in a slight smirk, knowing she'd caught him bait, hook, and sinker.

"So, Sterling," she did her best to sound casual, "do you have your viola with you?"

"I'm afraid I'm not very good," he said quietly, intently studying the lace curtains surrounding Zelda's bed, and Zelda, taking them in, realized that they were not only girly, but sensuous, in their own way. It was a princess bed, but it could be a sex bed, too.

_Malon's been a bad influence,_ she said to herself.

"Yeah, Sterling has his viola," Jarrett said genially. "Come on, Sterling, why don't you play for Zelda? You're really good." He switched his focus to Zelda. "He's first chair, top orchestra, in our private school."

"I've sung for you," Zelda said sweetly. "I'd be honored to hear you play."

Jackpot. Sterling looked at her, the lightest of smiles teasing across his face.

"I suppose I could play," he said softly.

"Great!" Jarrett leapt up from the couch, making his way towards the door. "He's in that one room… with the music and stuff…"

"Ah." Zelda nodded in understanding, then turned her eyes on Sterling. "You can lead the way, if you want."

"Erm, okay. Follow me."

He was so shy, it really was cute.

The three of them trooped out of Zelda's room and down the halls to the staircase, then up a floor to the hall where most of the guest rooms were amassed. Each room had something peculiar about it- one room was done entirely in blues, another was antique themed, there was a third that paid homage to fruit…

It was oddly fitting that Sterling was in the room with the musical motif.

All of the house had been planned by Zelda's mother and decorated by Zelda's mother, who was a master at the fine art of subtlety, or so Zelda had heard. Only the more formal rooms, the family's rooms and the rooms reserved for the close family friends, were decorated more personally, more closely- the rest were "fluff" rooms, as Zelda called them. So up the stairs they went, and Zelda allowed herself to be stopped before Sterling's door.

"Let me check that it's clean," he said softly, before slipping quietly in. As the door shut with a nearly inaudible click, Jarrett gave a snort.

"Of course it's clean," he said to Zelda. "Sterling's meticulous. Everything has to have a place. He's probably smoothing the wrinkles off of the bed or something like that."

"Perfectionist, I assume?"

"In the extreme," Jarrett stated. "He's top of the class, first chair, was voted MVP for the football team…"

"Oh, he plays football?"

"He's damn good at it, too," Jarrett stated.

"I see."

"You can come in," Sterling said, opening the door.

Jarrett had been right about one thing- the room was spotless. There was a chair in the corner of the room upon which sat a blue rectangular case- Sterling walked over to it and proceeded to unzip it. Zelda didn't miss the tenderness with which Sterling pulled out his viola, though his back was turned to her. Carefully, he pulled out the bow and chinrest, setting the bow on the bed as he attached the chinrest to the bottom of the viola. With amazing deftness, Sterling tucked the viola onto his shoulder, holding it in place as he tightened the bow and then turned to face Zelda and Jarrett.

After a brief moment of tuning, he looked up. "What should I play?" The question was directed at Jarrett, who looked up, thoughtful.

"Play that one song. You know, that you're really good at."

"The etude?" He raised one eyebrow, and Zelda was reminded of Link, oddly.

"Yeah, the tude. With all the notes. Play that one."

Zelda remembered why she'd always disliked Jarrett so much. Unintelligence was his weapon of choice.

"Alright then. It's rather long, I'm afraid… you can sit down, if you'd like."

"If you don't mind, I think I will," said Zelda, taking a careful seat on the bed. Jarrett plopped down on the floor, and Sterling, facing them, began to draw the bow across the string.

Zelda was enraptured. He closed his eyes as he played at first, swaying with the melody as the bow traveled across the strings, the tiny instrument secure in his strong grip. His left hand slid up and down the neck, fingers whirling, wrist swaying to give the melody a voice, a singing, moaning longing. Note after note rang out, clear in the early morning. The expression on his face was so serene as he played, Zelda could believe that he was one with the viola, one with the music. Then he opened his eyes.

They were glass green and intense, but within, he was conscious and she knew it. His eyes met hers and didn't leave them- though his face was steadily flushing, he didn't look away. Jarrett was off in la-la land, as was to be expected, and so the moment was intimate for both Zelda and Sterling- deep within her, Zelda mused that it was nearly as intimate as lovemaking, in a different sort of sense. Their eyes never broke contact, and as the music crescendoed, Zelda crescendoed with it, then fell, fell, back down to earth as the last low, slow notes were played.

"Bravo!" Jarrett began to clap, breaking the trance that both Zelda and Sterling had fallen into. "I think that was the best I've ever heard it."

"I messed up," he stated softly, looking at the soft carpet.

"It sounded really good to me," Zelda replied. "You're amazing."

"Thanks." Sterling looked up and shot a fleeting smile at Zelda, then looked back down to the carpet.

"Well, what shall we do now?" Jarrett stretched and looked around the room, ignoring Sterling as he packed up his viola carefully, tenderly, and then stared at Zelda.

"I've got to go meet my aunt Audrey in the library," Zelda replied. "Catch up and stuff. I'll see you at lunch. Do you know what time it is?"

"One thirty, isn't it?" Jarrett asked. "Your dad's a schedule Nazi, right?"

"Only to family. It would be best to be in there at one twenty-five, though. I'll see you later."

"Do you want us to walk you to the library?" Jarrett was desperate for an excuse to stay with Zelda longer, to win her over. Poor Jarrett, Zelda sighed within. He just shot his only chance in the foot.

"No thanks. I can handle myself just fine. I appreciate the offer, though. Remember, one twenty-five," she called as she exited the room. Smirking to herself, she walked down the hallway, down the stairs, and to the second floor, going in the opposite direction of the bedrooms and, instead, to the library, whose gigantic windows overlooked the pool and gardens. Zelda entered the room quietly, shutting the door behind her. Audrey was sitting at a table, reading a book. The rest of the room was empty.

"Ah, you're here," she said without looking up. "Lock the door, if you will."

Zelda obeyed silently, turning the lock and then walking over to sit with her aunt.

"So, you're willing to accept?"

"Yes," Zelda said softly. "I've been mulling it over, kind of, and I figure, if it was something Mom was involved in, I need to know it; my own preference is out of the question if it involves my blood."

"I was hoping you'd say something like that." Audrey smiled, shutting her book and removing her glasses, and she leaned across the table to smile at her niece. "I'm going to tell you everything I know. Everything started with the creation of our world…."

**Uploaded: February 19**

**6:23 PM**

dramatic music Dun dun DUNNNNN! Is Sterling not amazing? And don't you feel sorry for Jarrett? And Link? Sorry about the drastic lack of Link in this chapter- I PROMISE you'll see a bit more of him in the next chapter. And, also, he's going to play a major role very, very soon, as he'll be there for Zelda when she most needs it…. But why am I giving this away to you? I don't know.

I know I've uploaded this a lot earlier than I normally do, but that's because I'm going to a concert tonight and I don't expect to be back until late. As in late. As in way too late. So that's that, and I'm uploading early.

Nothing else much to speak of, I don't think. If you're sick of "the house", just wait. There's at least six more chapters of it (or perhaps five, tops, as I'm currently working on chapter 22 and it's still only Christmas) but there's lots of parties and action and moving events and stuff. Not to mention the wedding itself, among… other things.

I'm gonna go ahead and go now, get ready for the concert which is at a pretty big club downtown. Expect the events of tonight to trickle down into future chapters. And for those of you who don't read my author's page and were wondering, yes, the character of Sterling_ is_ real.

Signing off!


	18. The Wager

**Eighteen :The**** Wager**

Zelda was in Link's room several evenings later, lying facedown on her stomach as his soft hands expertly kneaded the tension out of her back and shoulders. Ever since the entrance of Sterling several mornings ago, Zelda had felt much more comfortable around Link. She had something to distract her from him and the terrible fact she would never be able to be with him, and both teens seemed perfectly content with their incredibly plutonic relationship.

In fact, if she didn't know any better, she'd say Link was going gay.

"So tell me about this Sterling guy," Link said as his hands gently rubbed her shoulders. If she didn't know better, she would have thought it sensual and an incredible turn on. But as it was, it was just Link, who she knew she could trust. Completely.

"What about this Sterling guy?" She murmured, head resting upon her arms as Link's thumbs rubbed slow circles into the muscles around her spine. "Mmmmmm."

"I saw the glances you two were shooting one another during lunch. So spill. What's up?"

"Mm, nothing," she sighed softly. "I played bass and sang for him, he played viola for me. Why?"

"Because he's obviously digging on you," Link said in exasperation. "And it looks to me like you're digging on him."

"And if I am?"

"No problem there, except if you two get together, you'll be doing the whole long distance relationship thing, which I've heard is utter crap."

"Mmmm."

"But if that's what you want to do, hell, go for it, I say. If that's what'll make you happy."

"You think so?"

"Yeah."

"But Link, what if I get hurt?"

His hands and voice were gentle as he rubbed her softly, his hands sliding over the thin silken fabric of her dress. "If he hurts you, I hurt him. Nobody hurts my friends."

"Yeah?" Zelda began to push herself up, and Link's hands evaporated from her back. She turned around, beaming at him, and he was smiling too, sincerity in his eyes. "I don't even know if he likes me."

"I think he likes you," Link said, taking Zelda's hand. "How could he not."

Zelda smiled, cheeks reddening. "Aw, Link, now you're flattering me and that's just cheap."

"No, it's true," Link protested, letting go of her hand and sticking his tongue out at her. "And I bet I can prove it, too."

"Let's wager on it," Zelda stated greedily. "I bet you… two bags of candy corn that he doesn't like me."

"Bet taken," Link replied, and beckoned Zelda to her feet. "Come on, up! I'm going to get that candy corn."

"Link," Zelda grumbled, "we don't even know where in the house he is."

Link stopped dead, Zelda crashing into him from behind. "Hey!"

"Okay, let's see," Link said, not turning around to face Zelda. "He plays viola, right?"

"Right…"

"So he's probably the kind of sensitive type."

"Right…"

"So if you were a sensitive male pining, where would you go?"

"Link, I doubt he's pining," Zelda replied.

"Humor me here. Where would you go?"

"I'd probably be staring at the stars or out over the ocean or something."

"Exactly," Link stated. "Go get your coat. We're going outside."

"Link…" Zelda began, but then sighed. Whatever. "Fine, come on. Coat is in my room."

"Wait, on second thought, don't get your coat."

"What?" She squawked, despite her attempts not to. "Link it's…" she glanced at the clock, "eleven-thirty at night and we're going outside and I'm in a dress with no sleeves. I'm going to freeze."

"Precisely," Link stated with a demonic grin. "Now come on. You'll see."

"I'm going to shoot you, I really am," Zelda grumbled, her words lacking malice as Link dragged her down the hall and past the library. Zelda stopped for a moment.

Ever since that morning, when Audrey had told Zelda all that she knew, Zelda had gone back each day, just before lunch, and just talked with her Aunt, trying to figure things out- Audrey knew what to probe Zelda on, and each day, the triforce grew stronger. Zelda was still having difficulties fully believing and accepting the full story, but if the three triangles that were slowly appearing on her hand weren't enough proof, there was the box and the ocarina, and all the legends that they'd found that fit into the story.

Link gave Zelda a little push and she continued past the library, out to the door of a massive balcony that gave a perfect view of the gardens.

"You owe me two bags of candy corn," he said quietly, and pointed.

There, silhouetted against the moonlight, was Sterling, leaning out against the railing, short black curls blowing slightly in the wind.

"Not just yet," she whispered to him, hand on the doorknob. "I hate you."

"What are you waiting for?" Link replied, his breath tickling her ear. "Go out there. Now."

"Blah blah, fine," Zelda said, and opened the door, stepping quietly out onto the balcony. Sterling turned, eyes unreadable, then smiled slightly as she closed the door behind herself and walked over to stand next to him, gooseflesh popping up on her arms.

Damn you, Link.

"Hi," she said softly.

"Hey."

They stood in relative silence for a moment, both staring out into the night.

"What are you doing out here?"

Sterling turned his head to look at her, glass green eyes meeting her own violet under the nearly-full moon.

"Stargazing," he replied, with relative little abash. "Jarrett would laugh at me, but I love to look at the stars. There's nothing quite like them."

"It's too bad there's so much smog from the city and so much light pollution," Zelda replied. "Then we'd be able to see thousands."

"Yes, it's very unfortunate. But I don't mind so much, because there are stars out here. That's better than nothing. Better than we get in Los Angeles."

"It is."

It was silent but for the night wind. Zelda shivered, wrapping her arms around herself.

"You must be cold." Sterling turned to her again, and inwardly, Zelda cursed Link. Again.

"I'm okay."

More quiet. Zelda shivered again- that stupid silk dress didn't retain any heat. A thousand curses to all designer clothing lines.

"Here, have my coat," Sterling said to her, taking off the brown leather jacket he was wearing and handing it to her.

"No, I couldn't," Zelda said. "You keep it. I'm fine."

"No. I'm wearing sleeves, and that dress is silk and has only thin straps. I'm sure you're freezing." Upon seeing her hesitation, he wrapped the coat around her shoulders. "Honestly, take it. I grew up in northern Europe- I'm fine in the cold."

"If you're sure." Zelda pulled the jacket tight around her, still warm from being on Sterling's body. It smelled of him, vaguely like the meadow with a whiff of cologne. She pulled it tighter around herself, basking in the warmth of it.

"Sometimes, I wonder what's up there," Sterling said unexpectedly. "I know about space and solar systems and planets and stars and black holes, and I've seen pictures, but… I want to see the beauty for myself."

"Like the Mona Lisa?" Zelda asked. Sterling shot her a confused look, and she blushed a little. "I mean, the Mona Lisa looks plain in pictures, but they say when you see it in real life…."

"Yeah, like the Mona Lisa." Sterling smiled, and then looked skyward once more. "But not like the Mona Lisa. You know, angels and demons and stuff, what if they're up there, too, not just the black holes and the chunks of rock and fire?"

"It's an interesting thought," Zelda replied, thoughtful. "I wish I could answer."

"You know," Sterling began after a few minutes of silence, "there's a legend in my family. When god flooded the world and Noah built the Arc, God put the souls of those who had died up in the sky so that we could always remember them, and ever since then, when someone is unexpectedly taken away, they go up into the sky, too."

"It's a nice legend," Zelda said, staring up, looking hard. "And comforting."

"Yeah." Sterling was looking up at the sky as well, and then touched Zelda's arm lightly. "A shooting star. Make a wish, and make it good."

_"Look, Zel!" exclaimed Link, pointing out over the glimmering ocean. "A shooting star. Make a wish."_

"A wish…." Zelda said softly, remembering her wish from that summer's night so long ago. Love. Real love. She smiled bitterly, closing her eyes. "My wishes never come true."

"What sort of wishes do you make?" Sterling was standing closer now, and Zelda didn't mind at all.

"When I was little, I would wish for my mother to come back. Then, when I was older, I wished my father would recognize me. And then…." Zelda shrugged, shaking her head. "Nothing ever seems to come true, so I just don't really bother any more."

"I see," Sterling said softly. He ran a hand through his hair, then looked at Zelda, serious. "I have a question. It's serious, and if it offends you, I'm very sorry, but I would like to know."

"Yes?"

"What happened to your mother?"

Zelda closed her eyes, smiling sadly. "She died. Childbirth. Something went wrong, the doctor couldn't fix it. She died after naming me. Bled to death."

"Oh, Zelda, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have asked. I'm terribly, terribly sorry."

"No, it's okay," Zelda replied quietly. "I don't blame you for asking."

They were silent again for a time, and then Sterling turned to her once more. "Do you often miss her?"

"Yes, even though I never met her." Her voice wavered as she said this, and she turned and stared up at the stars, crystals glittering in the corners of her eyes as she studied the smoggy sky.

"You know, it's okay to cry," Sterling told her softly. "It's okay. I don't mind, if you want to."

"Really?" Zelda looked at him, emotions in her eyes- loss, pain, respect, hope, fear…

"Really."

She all but leapt at his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, stroking her hair and rocking her carefully, waiting out her pain.

Inside the house, Link watched from a window, smiling sadly. He'd come to terms with the fact that he couldn't have Zelda, and he was happy for her. If that Sterling hurt her, though…. Link fisted his hands, and looked out the window one last time at a crying Zelda and Sterling who was holding her gently. If her hurt her, Link would make him pay; for every tear Zelda cried over him, Sterling would shed a drop of blood. Link swore it to himself. If anyone ever hurt Zelda, the most precious person in the world to him, he would make them pay. Oh, would he make them pay.

Deciding that Zelda was safe and that she and Sterling should have their privacy, Link walked away, sad for himself, overjoyed for Zelda. And plus, he realized merrily, now she owed him two bags of candy corn.

-

"I don't owe you two bags of candy corn."

"Do so."

"Do not."

"Do so."

"Do not."

It was before breakfast the next morning, and Link was sitting in Zelda's room as, again, she applied makeup.

"Why not? You haven't even told me what exactly went on out there, which makes me think that you probably had a passionate first kiss or a groping session or something."

"Link!" Zelda accidentally poked herself in the eye with the mascara brush, turning and leaning out the bathroom in fury, one eye bright pink, swollen, and watery. "Look what you made me do! And no, nothing like that went on. We talked for a bit, and then he asked me about my mom, and I told him and he told me it was okay to cry, so I cried and he held me. Then I started to get tired, so he walked me to my room. Case closed." Zelda fanned her watering eye, turning back to the mirror and breathing through her mouth as she waited for the tears to fade.

"Isn't there a party tonight?" Link asked, lolling on Zelda's bed, playing with one lacy pillow.

"Yeah," Zelda answered warily, carefully applying eyeliner to her still-red eye. "All the guests have arrived, and the wedding is in a few days, thus the parties begin, and they'll probably continue every night until new years' day. Why?"

"Because," Link said carefully, "tonight could be a big chance for you."

Zelda set down the eye makeup and reached for her red-hot curling iron. "Uh huh. Listen, Link, I don't think he likes me," Zelda stated, carefully curling the ends of her hair.

"Why do you say that? He let you cry on his shoulder, didn't he?"

"Yeah, after he provoked me to it. Ow." She singed her neck on the curling iron and glared. "Stupid thing."

"But my point was proven last night, sensitive male looking at stars equals pining whatever."

"No, Link, I just think you're crazy." Zelda ran some water over her hand and wiped it against her neck, then dried it before it could reach her expensive designer top. "I mean, what sort of cruel person would provoke someone to tears and then refuse to be compassionate about their mistake?"

"Lots of people," Link replied. "And obviously, lover boy isn't one of them."

"He's not lover boy," Zelda snapped back at him, continuing with her curling work. "Stop calling him that."

"But I've seen how he looks at you during the meals, it looks like he really wants to…"

Zelda cut him off. "Do you want a red hot curling iron shoved up your rear?" She waved the object in question threateningly around the corner at Link, continuing, "because I swear I'll do it if you don't shut up."

"All I'm saying is…. Never mind." Link sighed, and Zelda heard the squeak of bedsprings as he shifted around a bit, then silence. "Just trying to help."

"I appreciate it, Link," Zelda said, "I really do, but I would really like to handle this thing on my own."

"Okay, okay, if you're sure."

"Positive."

There was relative quiet for a time, and then the squeak of bedsprings, followed by a thump as Link rolled to the floor and stood. "I'm going to investigate your room."

"Watch the bottom drawer in the armoire," Zelda warned. "Everything else is safe."

"Gotcha."

"And don't make a mess or else the maid will kill me."

"Aye, ma'am."

The sound of chaos and disarray followed, and inwardly, Zelda winced, hoping Link wasn't getting too into his exploration. Sighing, Zelda brushed out her hair and braided it down her back, and exited the bathroom.

"Okay, Link," she said, stepping out and watching as the bored teen dug through her desk. "Put all that stuff back and let's go."

"Right away, captain," he bubbled, shoving some papers and books haphazardly back into the bottom drawer of Zelda's desk and closing it. "To breakfast we go." As he passed her, he grabbed her left hand with his left hand, jerking Zelda around so that she was running backwards. A second later, though…

BZZT.

Zelda yanked her hand back, and Link did the same. They looked at one another, confused. Zelda had curled her fingers into a fist and pushed the back of her left hand into the soft coat she was wearing behind her back, and she noticed that Link was rubbing the top of his.

"What was that?" Zelda asked, even though in part she was half afraid she already knew. Link, though? No, it was too much of a coincidence…

"I don't know." He shook his head, looking uncomfortable. "Do you?"

"The carpet in this house is kind of weird," Zelda lied. "You must have shocked me, or I must have shocked you, and the reaction was a little delayed."

"Yeah," Link agreed, looking lightly spooked. "That must be it."

Zelda shrugged her thin shoulders delicately. "Oh well. Let's continue on down to breakfast."

"Alrighty." Link seemed to shake the oddity off, and hopped merrily out of the room, Zelda walking next to him as they proceeded down the hallway. The two chattered idly, and eventually became engaged in a friendly debate about time and time travel.

"It's a paradox," Link insisted. "I mean, say someone went back in time and told Isaac Newton about gravity, and that's how we know about gravity? Who started it, and does it even really exist?"

"Yes," Zelda argued, "because in traveling back in time was like splitting the river. So at one point, Isaac Newton really DID discover gravity, and it went into the future, and someone went back and told him and, in doing that, created a fork in the river."

"But for that to work, the river would have to be running backwards."

"Then think about maybe it making a separate river, running right alongside ours. Point is that even if time is changed, at one point, something did happen."

"What happens when the rivers collide, though? Chaos would ensue. That's why I'm saying it's a paradox, and what you're talking about is time/space travel, not just time travel." Link had a good point. Zelda thought hard for a moment, trying to remember...

"Bad things would happen," she finally replied. "Like, imagine if somebody locked a monster between the two rivers, and, when the rivers collided, the monster was finally set free? Bad, bad things would happen."

"But when did monsters become involved?"

"Link, all I'm saying is that bad things would happen when the hypothetical rivers collided."

"But then what if they didn't collide? Or one broke off into a stream that fed into the other one?"

"Link, you're being impossible," Zelda sighed as they entered the breakfast corner. She kicked him as he began to open his mouth. "You need to behave."

There were lots of guests in the room now that everybody had arrived, seated at the large table and the other smaller tables that had been scattered around the massive eating area. "Go find a table."

Link wandered off to one of the few empty small tables and sat down, and Zelda, sure that he wouldn't get in any trouble, went around, greeting the guests, asking if they had slept well, if they were finding everything to their liking.

Ah, the beauties of being a good hostess.

Zelda smiled and shook hands as she journeyed around the room, listening to stories, petting the occasional small dog… There weren't more than thirty guests total, but it felt like at least a hundred to Zelda. At last, she reached her table and happily sat down next to Link.

"You want me to go get you some food?" he asked her, munching on a pancake.

"Would you please? Thank you so much," she said as he got up and sauntered off to the buffet table.

The squeak of the door's hinges caught Zelda's ears, and she turned and watched as Sterling and Jarrett entered the room. Jarrett was talking animatedly to Sterling, who had his full attention, and was nodding. In a hurry, Zelda looked away, just as Link arrived back and plopped a heaping plate of pancakes, eggs, and bacon in front of her.

"Thanks, Link."

"No problem, friend," he replied, his eyes going over Zelda's shoulder once and narrowing. "Hmm."

"Link, not now," she said softly, reaching for her fork, only to realize that she had none. "Agh, hold on. I need to go get silverware…"

She stood and made her way across the room, saying hello to the guests still, and when she reached the buffet table, she grabbed some silverware and a soft cloth napkin. Sterling was just a few feet away, ladling grits onto his plate.

"Good morning, Sterling," she said, smiling at him. He looked up in surprise and a small smile formed at the edge of his mouth.

"Good morning," he replied softly.

Zelda sighed within. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, thank you."

Jarrett buzzed up just then, bidding Zelda a flurry of good mornings and how are yous. Zelda smiled and nodded and answered, then queried back and then, with a heavy heart, returned to her table.

He was almost acting as though nothing had happened.

Link seemed to have noticed once Zelda returned, as she didn't even try and shut him up for beginning on the time travel thing all over again. She ate in silence, gulped down a glass of orange juice one serving girl brought, and stood up to leave.

"You ready to go, then?" Link asked her, his food long-since snarfed down.

"Yeah," she said quietly. "Before I have to do any more good-hostess stuff."

Quietly and inconspicuously, they left the eating area, and then abruptly crashed into Impa, Haft, and the girls coming down the stairs.

"Good morning, Zelda," Haft greeted with a yawn. "Good morning, Link."

"Hi Mom, hi Dad," Link said, and Zelda nodded, smiling. Saria and Jayda seemed to be out of it, like their father.

"I hope breakfast isn't already over."

Impa looked kind of funny, and after a moment of studying her face Zelda figured out why- she'd covered the silver cat's eye tattoos with foundation and concealer.

"No, it's still in full swing and will be for maybe another hour," Zelda replied with a smile.

"Ah, good," Impa said. She pushed gently on the backs of her two daughters with a, "let's go down, then."

Link turned to watch them walk the rest of the way down the stairs, and when he turned back to Zelda, he discovered, to his shock, that she was gone.

-

The room hadn't changed in all the seventeen years she'd been dead.

Zelda was sitting in the bedroom, looking out the window at the dreary December day. Her mother's old silken kimono was hanging from a hook on the wall, and Zelda had hugged the soft cloth, taking in the still-there scent of her long-dead mother. She knew that nobody would disturb her here- the maids had been instructed to keep the room in good shape, yet they only entered in when they had to. Richard Harkinian himself entered the room rarely; too great was the grief attached to these quarters, and so it was Zelda's own sanctuary.

Zelda sighed as she stood and walked around the room. It looked like the bedchambers of a queen, expensively furnished and in the best of tastes. Yet there was a modest simplicity to it, something about it that Zelda loved dearly.

She stopped and sat on the bed, fingers brushing across the quilt that adorned the covers. Zelda had always loved this quilt, full of midnight blues and yellows and reds and greens and colors of the daytime and the nighttime clashing. Zelda had been told by her aunt Audrey that Zelda's mother's mother's mother had made this quilt for Aileen for her twentieth birthday. The quilt had always seemed to Zelda to tell a story, each of the seemingly randomly scattered colors representing something different. And now, Zelda knew.

Before, Zelda had hardly dared to touch anything within the sanctuary for fear of disturbing her mother's memory, but now, she knew what she had to do, and so, sighing sadly, she opened up the drawer on the bedside table closest to her and began to carefully dig. No dice.

Zelda walked around the bed and tried the other side, doing her best not to disturb the random hodgepodge of trinkets that filled the drawers; pens, books, ribbons, bottles of lotion, small tea-light candles. Still no dice.

Shutting the drawer carefully, Zelda turned and walked to the center of the room, closing her eyes. Audrey had told her that her mother had kept a journal while she was alive and that it would be important for Zelda to find it, though Audrey hadn't exactly clarified why. So here Zelda was, post-letdown, in her mother's room, and she was thinking like a normal person, which Aileen Harkinian had certainly not been.

"Okay," Zelda said aloud, voice seeming to vanish into the stillness of the dead woman's room. "So, if I were Mom, where would I put my journal? This would be a bit easier if I'd actually known her…."

Zelda thought, tapping her finger to her mouth as she looked in the mirror, reflection quite similar to the yellowing photograph tucked in between the mirror and the frame of a woman and her younger, brown-haired sister standing together on a beach and smiling. Think inside the box, Zelda told herself. You're her child, you must think like her to some degree.

Hardly noticing what she was doing, Zelda dropped to a squat and opened the far left drawer, second to the bottom. There, on top of the neatly folded silken slips, was a faded old copy of Huckleberry Finn. Hardly thinking, Zelda pulled the book out and opened it, turning a few pages until she'd found the large square hole cut through most of the pages in the book, just barely large enough to fit a journal.

"I am good," Zelda said to herself, carefully removing the little blue journal from its resting place. "I am very good."

She sat down on the bed, leaning against a bedpost, and began to read.

**Uploaded: February 26**

**5:31 PM**

My most humble apologies that this chapter is so short and so boring. And you're all probably about to kill me, hurrah, because GASP I'm hooking Zelda up with another character? How _could _I! The simple truth to this, in case any of you were wondering, is that life is not perfect, nor is it ever cut and dried and neat. It's rare that anybody finds the person for them on their first, second, even fifth try, and that's the point I'm trying to make. And who knows- Zelda and Link may not even be together in the future. Dun dun dunnnn!

So, to address some more structural facets of this story. I'm planning on making "Ordinary Story" four books long, each book lasting approximately six months or so_. Book I_ itself will end on New Years' with a very interesting scene, I think, and its completion will be followed by a short break for me as I'm suffering burnout, then shortly, Book II will begin. Also, I am considering a sequel to Ordinary Story as I have the entire thing planned out already, but I'm not sure whether or not it will actually be published. It will definitely take place upwards of two years after the end of Ordinary Story, however, I'm not sure if it would be necessary or even feasible. I'd like to try and finish this whole thing first before I dip my fingers into sequel-ness. If I do do a sequel, however, if will definitely be much shorter than this story, which is already way longer than I originally intended it to be.

NOW! Not that any of you care, but I must tell you about the concert last weekend. It was fun- we went down to this city's "clubbing" street and watched some bands from my school play there, so keep an eye out for this in the future of OS. Anyway, we mucked around on 6th street, saw two bands, then wound up going for Starbucks afterwards, and played around on some marble cows that are a local legend/attraction/no person's life is complete without playing on them. All in all, it was a blast, and inspiring.

It's time for me to be going now. I'll see you all next week. Thanks for reading and PLEASE review!

Love, me.


	19. Glitter or Grunge

**Nineteen: Glitter or grunge**

It was time for the party that night, and Zelda was sitting in front of a large mirror as one of the girls did her hair for her, coiling it atop her head in majesty.

"There ya' go," said the girl in her crude southern accent. She was new to the house and Zelda found she quite liked the girl, who seemed to have no prejudice against her. "Yer hair looks lovely, if I do say so myself."

"It is lovely," Zelda said, looking at the majestic coiffure. "You're excellent with hair. Thank you."

"Yer welcome," said the girl, beaming. She pulled a soft white lily out of the pocket of her apron and waved it in front of Zelda's face. "D'ya want this in yer hair, miss?"

"Yes, that would be great," Zelda said softly, allowing the girl to tuck it into the front of her coiffure. "Thank you."

"Yer welcome, miss," said the girl. "M'name's Laura, if y'need me for anythin'. Yer father's got a nice right place here, and I like workin'. You both'r right fine people."

"Thank you," said Zelda softly. "I'll remember that, yes. Thank you… Laura."

"Yer welcome, Miss. I'll be leavin' ya now to get ready." The girl smiled and turned and left, red curls bouncing after her. She was a pretty girl with a light voice and freckles, and in a way, she reminded Zelda of Malon, vaguely. Zelda smiled and stood, unzipping her gray hoodie, under which she wore a strapless bra, and tugged off her pajama pants. She walked into her massive closet and pulled a glittering black dress out of the plastic bag that guarded it, unzipping it in the back and stepping in. With a bit more than a little trouble, Zelda squirmed the dress up over her bra and breasts and zipped up the back, breathing hard from the mild exertion.

"Dresses," she sighed, turning around in the mirror and checking that the dress was zipped all the way up. She grabbed a black shawl from her closet, then walked to her armoire and pulled out a pair of black designer shoes, tugged them onto her feet, clasped a string of snow white pearls around her neck and a matching string around her wrist, sprayed herself lightly with sweet perfume, and walked into the bathroom, standing before the large three-way mirror to have a look at herself.

The tube-top dress was white underneath layers of black beaded lace, so many layers that the white was nearly invisible. The hem of the dress was tiered, a handkerchief hemline, and reminded Zelda of a Halloween costume she'd once worn many years ago, when she'd dressed up as a witch. The black shawl with white beading along the edges tied the dress to the pearls, which, in turn, brought out the stark, pure, snow-white lily tucked into Zelda's beautiful coiffure, piled in curls high atop her hair, a few small tendrils hanging down around her neck and ears. Zelda smacked her glossy lips, pushed a pair of pearl earrings into her ears, turned around once (inwardly wincing from the awful stiletto heels) and then stared at herself some more, marveling at how she looked so unlike her normal self.

"The question is," she asked her glamorous model reflection, "who is the real Zelda? Is she glitter or grunge?"

Leaving her question to the cool air in the bathroom, Zelda took three deep breaths, then exited her bedroom, grabbing her black sequined clutch on the way, slinging it over her shoulder and wandering down the hall to her father's room, right next to her mother's. Tentatively, she knocked.

She'd hardly spoken to her father since her return to the house- ten minutes total over the past half week, if that. They'd exchanged few words during the meals they shared, preferring their food to conversation, and whenever Zelda saw him in the halls of the massive house, he was busy.

It reminded Zelda why she'd agreed to leave in the first place.

The wooden surface in front of Zelda fell away as Richard Harkinian opened the door, breaking her trance.

"Ah, Zelda," he said proudly, looking his daughter up and down. "You look lovely, my dear."

"Are you ready to down, Dad?" she asked, disregarding his nice tuxedo, Armani, of course.

"Yes, I am. Do you know if the limousine is here yet?"

"I dunno." Zelda shrugged her bare shoulders, then wrapped her shawl around herself. "Probably. Pedro is usually pretty prompt about the limmo and whatnot."

"He is," Harkinian absentmindedly agreed, and walked before his daughter down the hall and down the stairs. Zelda caught a brief glimpse of his room- same as always, ultramodern and cold.

They descended the stairs, down to the first floor where several guests were already milling around, waiting for their transportation to arrive.

"The Tudors will be riding in a limousine with us," Harkinian said. "Tonight and tonight only."

"Yes, Father," Zelda said with little thought. "May I go and find them?"

"Be good to the guests."

She walked away, threading through the small crowd, repeating her breakfast routine, knowing exactly where she would find her closest friend….

She pushed through the last of the people out onto the patio out back, where Link was sitting, looking goofy in a nice tuxedo.

"Princess!" He hopped off the railing and sauntered over to her. "You look lovely tonight."

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Shut up, Link." She whacked him on the head. Link winced, rubbing his hair, and eyed Zelda up and down.

"Bee in your bonnet?"

"That is one of the most awful sayings I've ever heard in my life." Zelda leaned against the railing, taking note of how the light of the moon reflected on the fake lagoon.

There was a beat of silence. "What's up?"

Zelda was quiet for a time, pensive, and then finally she spoke, patting her hair as she did so.

"I feel… I don't know. Confused."

"About?"

Her breath billowed white around her nose and mouth as she spoke.

"Sterling, for one thing. I mean, he ignores me for days at a time, and then acts like nothing's happened! It's frustrating. And… this lifestyle is suited to me, but it's not suited to me to be my father's daughter. I… I don't know. I like the house and I like leading an easy life, but I don't like being the perfect daughter and I don't like having a structured day."

"I think you were born a princess," Link said. "And your mother was a queen, and someday, you'll grow up and fill her shoes and be a queen, too. You can't escape this, because you were born into it and this social system is unforgiving, but I think that you can make it work. And ignore Sterling. If he's going to be an ass, he's going to be an ass and he's not worth your time. You really do look nice tonight, Zelda."

"Nicer than I did at homecoming?"

Link chuckled, shaking his shaggy hair out of his eyes. "Nicer than you did at homecoming. Don't worry about it, though, Zelda. You only have two more weeks and then you can go back to being an untamed, free spirit."

"And Impa won't wear concealer over her tattoos," Zelda stated with a snicker. Link chortled, shaking his head.

"That really threw me for a loop first time I saw it."

Silence.

"I have a question, Zel."

"Mmm?"

"I don't see you around here too often. Where are you all the time?"

"I've been spending a lot of time with my aunt Audrey," Zelda replied softly. "Or attending to the guests, or in my mother's room, or just wandering around trying to figure myself out. That's the way my life always was before I moved out- wandering around, trying to figure myself out, and attending to the guests. There's always guests here, always."

"I see."

Silence, again. The two teens studied the pool, the garden, the sky, and finally, Zelda sighed, straightening.

"Come on," she said. "The limousine should be here soon."

"I get to ride in a limo!" Link's eyebrows arched up in disbelief.

"Yeah, and tomorrow night, you and your family don't have to share with me and my dad. Don't know what his reasoning behind that is, though…."

"Me neither," Link grunted. Zelda began to lead him inside, but Link stopped her.

"You look nice," Link said. "You really do. That dress suits you."

He melted. "Thanks, Hero. But let's go inside before we're missed."

"Alrighty."

They wandered back into the slightly-stuffy house and meandered through the guests, happening upon Impa and Haft, both of whom were trying to keep the little girls looking presentable, at best.

"Hello, you two," Impa said, looking lovely in a deep violet dress and silver jewelry. "Zelda, you look gorgeous."

"Thanks, Impa. You look nice, too. And so do you, Haft."

"Thank you, Zelda. Saria, please don't pick at your tights…."

Impa rolled her eyes, smiling. "Well thank you, dear. Link, straighten your tie."

"Eh?" Link looked down at his bow tie, which was askew, and grinned wolfishly. "Sorry, Mum."

"Need any help?" Zelda asked Haft as he tried to keep Saria from pulling at her white tights. Jayda was looking lovely and pristine, her hair braided up into a neat bun, complimented by white ribbons. Both the little girls were wearing matching green dresses with black silk sashes going around the middle, white hoes and black dress shoes. Whereas Jayda looked like a little princess in her gown, Saria looked plain confused and kept pulling at the itchy tights.

"If you don't mind," Haft said.

"I'm not deaf, you know. These things itch a lot, a loooooot!" Saria pulled at the tights more, and Zelda grinned.

"Saria, why don't you come over here?" she asked, holding her arms out. The girl came over obligingly, scowling at Zelda.

"Well I can't help it if I'm itchy, itchyyyy." Saria began to whine. "And this dress is so hot…"

"But you look so pretty," Zelda replied, grinning. "And if you don't pull at the tights any more, you get to ride in a limo for every night the rest of this week."

"Really?" Saria eyed Zelda with guarded caution, looking the older girl up and down. "I think you're lying."

"No, honestly," Zelda said, smiling. "I'm telling the truth. Right Link?"

"Right." Link was staring upwards, his focus fixated on the chandelier as he tried to count how many crystal teardrops were hanging from the large thing.

"See, and Link wouldn't lie," Zelda said to Saria. "So why don't you stop picking at your tights, okay?"

"Okay," Saria finally conceded with a sigh.

"Do you and Jayda want to come around with me and meet some of the guests when we get to the party? I think some of them will have children your age there. " Zelda was well aware of the pains of being the only one at a party her own age, and didn't want the girls to suffer that pain.

"Can we really?" Jayda asked, patting her hair.

"Sure," Zelda said with a smile. "Absolutely. Er, Link, come here."

"Eh?" Link tore his gaze away from the chandelier and wandered over to Zelda, away from his two parents who were deep in talk.

"Stay still for just a second, will you?"

"Er… okay…" Link remained motionless, and Zelda stood behind him and put both her hands on his shoulders, heaving herself upwards for just a moment to get a glimpse of the front door. "Ow!"

"Let's move towards the door," Zelda said, patting Link's hair, which was still wild, despite the gel that had been combed in. "The limo should be here soon."

"Hm?" Impa and Haft looked up from their conversation, and the latter, nodded. "Alright, Zelda."

The six of them moved towards the massive front door, Zelda smiling courteously at the guests as they made their way through to the door.

"Zelda." Harkinian nodded at her once they'd gotten to the door. "Good. The limousine is here."

"See Saria, I told you," Zelda said with a soft smile. Then, to her father, "I'm sorry I took so long."

"Don't make it a habit," he stated coolly, and then nodded to the Tudors before stepping out the front door as a servant held it open. Zelda followed, then Impa, Haft, and company, and one by one they filed out into the car.

"Wow," Saria said quietly. "A real limousine." Jayda just looked around with wide eyes.

Harkinian was sitting as close to the drivers' compartment as possible. Haft set next to Harkinian, Impa next to Haft. Link was next to his mother, and Zelda on the end, with the two little girls sitting on the narrow two seats in the very end.

"Would anybody like drinks?" Zelda asked, sensing her father's brain waves attacking her.

"No thank you," Impa declined. Haft politely added his second, and the little girls, sensing they were to follow their parents' lead that night, also refused. Link shrugged, now trying to count the number of beads on Zelda's dress, and Harkinian shook his head.

"No thank you, Zelda, but it was good of you to offer."

"You're very welcome, father," she replied courteously. Link's eyebrows shot up, but wisely, he didn't say anything, and the two little girls were too enraptured in the limo to notice.

Haft and Harkinian talked the whole way to the party, which was being held in a nice hotel in the city nearby. Zelda conversed quietly with Link and the girls, and even a bit with Impa, but despite her conversations and words, all her thoughts were with Sterling the entire evening. After what felt like forever, they arrived in the parking lot of the hotel, and despite the unusually chill winter, the trees were as green as though it were May.

Zelda stepped gracefully from the limousine, letting her black silken shawl drape elegantly around her elbows, smiling and humoring the little girls as Link clambered out of the limo, followed by the elegant Impa, and then Haft, and the reserved Richard Harkinian.

The sudden changes in the two Harkinians were noticeable to the Tudor families. Zelda seemed to glow with supreme light as she held herself straight, seemingly impervious to the cold, and Richard was tall, mighty, foreboding, a figure not to be crossed. The two led the way into the hotel and up the elevator, and Link, who was standing behind Zelda (who had seemingly transformed over the course of the night from normal, goofy Zelda in a dress to a queen, the ultimate in feminine) caught an enticing whiff of her perfume, and had to work very hard to remind himself that she was off-limits.

Zelda, on the other hand, was ignoring Link's presence behind her, instead thinking hard. Names, faces, important facts… she must be aware of herself, she must be perfect. She stood up a little straighter, and shot a look at her father, then back at the elevator doors, where her reflection stared back at her.

Would she ever live up the standards her long dead mother had set for her? Zelda doubted it.

The elevator doors slid open and Zelda allowed her father to step out into the reception area first, and bit back a groan as she saw her cousin standing by, looking perfect, as usual.

Curse you, Alexandria, Zelda muttered inwardly.

Alexandria Derwill was Zelda's father's sister's daughter and gorgeous. She had perfect strawberry blonde curls that were twisted and braided in a complicated knot, adorned with strings of pearls and white ribbons. Her cheeks were rosy, her skin pale, her lips the color of roses and her eyes the color of the afternoon sky.

She was also a spoiled brat and a ditz. It was a very unfortunate thing indeed that her beautiful head had nothing in it.

"Uncle Richard!" Alexandria rushed forward, taking her Uncle up in a hug. "How have you been?"

"I've been good. Where's Hamilton?"

Harkinian and Alexandria were much closer than Zelda and her father, probably because Alexandria was the socialite Zelda never was.

"He's escorting his family here," Alexandria said, laughing lightly. She then turned her eyes on her cousin, her favorite Uncle's daughter, who she despised.

"Zelda." Alexandria smiled at the younger woman, a genuine, empty exposure of perfect pearl teeth. "So glad that you could come. You're looking well."

"You too, Alexandria," Zelda replied softly. "Are you looking forward to your wedding?"

"Oh, immensely," Alexandria breathed, straightening her white _Chanel _dress. "I'm so glad that you could come up."

"I am, too. May I introduce you to Haft and Impa Tudor, my guardians?" Zelda smiled sweetly as Haft and Impa stepped forward, hoping she wasn't feeding them to the dogs. "They have a lovely beach-side property that I'm staying at."

"Oh, really?" Alexandria shook both their hands, then peered around at Link, Saria, and Jayda. "How lovely. And these are…?"

"Link," Haft said, beckoning to his son, "and Jayda and Saria. Say hello, girls."

"Hello," the twins chorused.

"Charming." Alexandria was smiling, but inwardly, Zelda winced.

Alexandria never had liked kids.

Sighing, Zelda took her place next to her cousin and her father, the little girls staying with her even as their parents and brother entered the party, and readied herself for a difficult night.

She'd been greeting and introducing for at least half an hour when Sterling appeared, in tow with Jarrett and Jarrett's father. Zelda's smile became genuine.

"Hello, Mr. Wiles, " she greeted Jarrett's father, who she'd had yet to see. "I trust that your trip was well?

"Why hello, Zelda," Wiles replied, beaming. "Yes, my trip was just fine."

"How is filming progressing? Jarrett told me you're working on a new project?"

"Filming is going well. Who are these?" He beckoned with a smile to Saria and Jayda, who were huddled by Zelda's elbow.

"May I introduce Saria and Jayda Tudor, daughters of a colleague of my father's." So what if it was a little twist on the truth? It was enough.

"Saria and Jayda? Lovely to meet you two."

"It's nice to meet you," Jayda chimed. Saria smiled. Wiles laughed, and then moved on to talk with Harkinian.

"Hello, Zelda," Jarrett said, looking like a model in his tuxedo. Zelda smiled sweetly at him, allowing him to embrace her briefly.

"Hi, Jarrett. I didn't see much of you and Sterling around today…"

"Ah, yes." Jarrett sighed with a shrug. "I'm afraid we were out shopping, as my dear friend is completely unable to pack."

"I forgot a tuxedo." Sterling looked ashamed, shrugging one shoulder. "We had to run out and get one. You look nice, Zelda…." His eyes traveled across her and he smiled, coming forward to embrace Zelda for a moment as well. As they broke apart, he tucked a small piece of paper into her left hand.

Thankfully, Jarrett didn't notice. "You two are Saria and Jayda, right?" he asked, looking down at the little girls. "I've heard a lot of you from Zelda."

"Is your dad a movie star?" Saria blurted out, causing Jarrett to laugh and Sterling to smile, chuckling lightly.

"Why yes he is, and some day, I'm going to be a movie star too, and so is Sterling here."

"Woooow." Saria's eyes were wide, even as Jayda nudged her sister in the ribs with her elbow, hissing, "you're being rude."

This set Jarrett and Sterling off even worse, and Zelda grinned, shaking her head.

"I'll see you two in the party," she said, looking to the line of guests still to be greeted. For a brief instant, she made eye contact with Sterling, but then it was broken and they were gone. Hurriedly, Zelda tucked the small piece of paper into her clutch and continued to greet, swallowing her confusion.

"Hello, Zelda." She bit back a smile as Sterling walked serenely up to her. "Walk with?" He offered her his elbow.

"Of course," she replied with a smile, tucking her hand away on his arm. He was incredibly muscular, Zelda thought, feeling his taut skin through the fabric of his dress coat and shirt.

"Tired?" Sterling asked her as he led her to a table to sit and eat.

Zelda sighed. "No, just winded."

"I would be too. Is your hand sore?"

"Nah." Zelda laughed merrily, sitting down in the seat Sterling offered her.

The guests were all clustered around small circular tables like these, each of which could hold six. The bride's table held only her and her groom. The bride's immediate family plus Harkinian was occupying the table next to Zelda and Sterling, on the bride's side. The groom's family was clustered around two tables to his left. Zelda supposed she was keeping in good form, and, if her father later lectured her for not "keeping up appearances", she could argue that she had been asked the honor of her escort and couldn't politely decline.

_Hah,_ Zelda thought. We all sound like a bunch of archaic upper class snot heads. Which we are, actually. Sigh.

"Zelda, my mother and father will be traveling up the day after the wedding for the Christmas Eve ball, and will be staying here until New Years. They're not friends of your cousin, however, as they are good friends of Jarrett's father, your father has invited them up to spend Christmas and New Years'."

"Really? You'll have to introduce me," Zelda said with a smile.

"My little brother will be coming up as well. I believe he's Jayna… Sarah…. Their ages."

"Yes, Jayda and Saria. He's ten?"

"Jayda and Saria, I'm sorry, and yes, he's ten."

"It's quite alright. I'm sure the girls would love to have some more company around the house, as none of the guests staying with us have children their age."

"Miss, may I serve you a drink?" There was a waiter there then, dark haired and dark skinned and bright eyed, tablet in hand as he watched Zelda keenly.

"Oh. Ah…." Zelda glanced at the menu briefly, then smiled. "Could I just get some water for now, thanks?"

"Yes, Miss. And you, sir?"

"Iced tea."

"Yes Sir. Your drinks will be out right away." The waiter left, and Zelda looked around the table, slightly confused.

"Where's Jarrett?"

"He left something in the car," Sterling replied with a grin. "He and his Dad ran down to get it. They should be here… ah, now."

"Hi there," Jarrett said as he bounded up, looking rather pink-cheeked. "Ah, Zelda, good, I'm glad to see you've decided to join us."

"Hello, Jarrett," Zelda greeted, then smiled at his father. "Hello, Mr. Wiles."

"Why hello there, Zelda," Wiles greeted, smiling. "I'm sorry that I missed you today when I arrived at the house. I had to take Sterling and Jarrett shopping." He gave a hearty laugh as he sat down. "Boys."

Zelda smiled and laughed as authentically as she could. Jarrett had gotten his overbearing personality from his father. They were both perfectly nice people, but sometimes… just no.

"Well I'm very glad to see that you made it here safely."

"Ah, yes, of course, of course." Wiles nodded, then looked around. "Well, I'll leave you kids to your antics. Zelda, I'm trusting you to keep those two boys out of trouble."

"I will, sir," she said with a smile. Wiles beamed and nodded, and then walked away, off to join somebody else.

"So, Zelda," Jarrett said, leaning forward, "tell us how your life has been living away from home."

It was a demand, not a request, and Zelda put on a show of thinking whilst internally debating what details to omit. Hmmmm….

"Well, I live with Impa and Haft and Link and Saria and Jayda in a big old Victorian house on the edge of the sea," Zelda began.

"Is Link that blonde boy you're always with?" Sterling asked, and Zelda nodded.

"Yes, he's like a brother to me, or a best friend."

"I see. Do continue." Jarrett looked around for the waiter and his water.

"Well, hmmm. I attend a very rich, very prestigious school. Everybody in the town knows how to surf, except for possibly me. I'm in a band with several friends of mine…"

"What sort of band?" Jarrett interrupted.

"We really don't fall into any specific genre," Zelda stated with a slight yawn. "We do a lot of softer stuff, but some heavier music as well. We've done covers of bands like The Darkness, Smashing Pumpkins, 3 Doors down, Goo Goo Dolls, Pearl Jam, Steppenwolf, Def Leppard, ah… Soft Cell…. Oh, and some Guns 'N Roses too, and right now we're working on 'Ain't Talkin' Bout Love' by Van Halen."

"Impressive." Jarrett nodded. "Tell us about your friends there." Sterling was hardly paying attention. Inwardly, Zelda seethed, but kept up the charade.

"Ah, yes, my friends." Zelda smiled, thinking. "One of my very dear friends, Malon, is one of a kind. Her father is a big rancher, owns a lot of land. I haven't been out on any of it, though, only heard stories." Zelda paused, thinking. "Then there's Lulu… I don't suppose you've ever heard of the Indigo Go's?"

"No," Jarrett said, but Sterling put his attention back on Zelda.

"I have," he stated in his deep, soft voice. "Mom told me about them. A music-legacy of sorts. The woman who founded the band. Lulu Watermill, sang in the band for nearly thirty years before her daughter stepped up and sang in her place, and the other members of the band stepped aside and let their offspring take up their instruments. Then in the late eighties or so, the second singer, Lulu, disbanded the Indigo Go's as she had children and the other band members wanted to settle down. I assume you're talking about the third Lulu?"

"Yes," Zelda said, awed by Sterling's musical knowledge. "Yes, the granddaughter of the woman who founded the Indigo Go's. She's one of my best friends, as well. It's her and me and Malon, and then Darmani and Mikau."

"Who?" Jarrett asked, looking up from the spoon he was inspecting his reflection in.

"Darmani and Mikau. Darmani's our drummer, Malon's boyfriend. Mikau's our guitar and lead singer, Lulu's boyfriend."

"But you have no boyfriend?" Sterling asked. Zelda shrugged her shoulders, shaking her head.

"Nope." The waiter set a glass of water down in front of Zelda and iced tea in front of Sterling, and turned to Jarrett and asked, "what would you like to drink, sir?"

"Got any hot cocoa?" Jarrett asked, grinning.

"It will be out in just a minute, sir," the waiter said politely, scribbling it on his tablet before walking off to ask another table what they wanted to drink.

"So," Zelda said, leaning forward on her elbows and glancing between Sterling and Jarrett, "I want to hear about your lives. Enlighten me."

Jarrett looked at Sterling, who impassively took a sip of his drink. "Ah, I guess I'll go first. I haven't really been up to much since the last time I talked to you…. The usual, school, hunting trips, and Dad did take me to New York for two weeks when he had to go there for a shoot. But other than that, nothing."

"Mmm." Zelda nodded, and then turned her eyes on Sterling. "And you?"

"I'm afraid I'm very boring," he said softly, his eyes downcast. Zelda was about to interject when Jarrett let out a loud laugh.

"You're about as boring as porn, my man," he said, but not loudly enough to attract any attention. Zelda let out a cough to cover up her surprised giggle. Sterling looked untouched, almost as if he hadn't been listening.

"Aha. Okay…." Zelda took a deep gulp of her water, trying not to giggle. "So then, Sterling, tell me everything but omit the porn-like details."

"Wait, what!" Sterling looked surprised, his face flushing scarlet. "I'm not… but I don't…." he guzzled down most of his icy tea and then glared at Jarrett. Coughing politely, he turned to Zelda. "I think that the porn analogy was severely misplaced. I think perhaps he meant that I am about as boring as… oh, say, a concert. Nothing unusual, but hopefully not too boring."

"I know." Zelda was smiling, "I'm just teasing you."

"Well, let's see…." Sterling thought for a moment, then made a face. "I'm going to sound like I'm bragging."

"Tell me anyway," Zelda urged him. Sterling looked unsure, but she grinned. "I _implore_ you."

He smiled vaguely and laughed a little and Zelda had to remind her heart to keep beating. "Okay, guess… I'm the first chair of the top orchestra at our school, which was the state honor orchestra this year, and I'm on the football team… somehow I got voted most valuable player this year, no idea how that worked, um… I'm on the track team, and we've broken several records this year already… and I'm the vice president of national honors society at our school, and I'm at the top of our class…. I'm terribly sorry, I rambled and now I must sound so conceited."

"Wow…." Zelda was amazed. "I don't think you're conceited at all. In fact, I'm really impressed."

"Hey, hey, Sterling, tell her how much you can squat." The waiter plopped a glass of water in front of Jarrett, set a basket of bread and a plate of butter shaped like golf balls, and then left. "When do we get our food?"

"Once everybody's seated and all the food has been cooked," Zelda replied. "And yes, Sterling, how much can you squat?"

"Ah…." He looked down, fidgeting with his napkin. "Over four hundred and fifty pounds."

"What?" Zelda was shocked, looking him up and down. "But…. How does it work? You're not that big, and you're only a bit taller than me… are you superman in disguise or something?"

Sterling laughed lightly, white teeth gleaming in the light. "No," he replied. "I'm just lucky."

"Do you sleep?" Zelda took a deep drink of water, and then reached for a slice of pumpernickel, which she dropped on the empty plate in front of her.

"A bit," he replied quietly.

"In Sterling-speak, that's a big fat NO," Jarrett replied, also reaching for a slice of bread. "And he doesn't even have a girlfriend. God knows they're chasing after him, though…." Jarrett grabbed his knife and snagged a butter ball, smearing it on his bread before taking a big bite. "The man's insane."

"All that and no girlfriend?" Zelda sighed, shaking her head. "Sterling, Sterling, Sterling…"

"Well… none of the girls at the school seem to be for me," he replied softly, making eye contact with Zelda. "Though…"

_BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTTTTT! BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTTTTT!_

"Ah, my phone," Zelda said, pulling it out of her clutch, where it was vibrating like a small earthquake. "Hang on, it's Malon. Let me take this, will you?"

Sterling's attention span snapped and he was back to looking all around the room with a vacant expression. "Sure," Jarrett answered for his friend, stuffing his face with bread and crackers and ice water. Zelda flipped the phone open, sighing at her dear friend's ill timing. "Hello?"

"Well hi there, chickadee! What's up?"

"I'm at a party," Zelda replied, toying with her fork.

"A party? You scandalous wench, why didn't you bring me along?"

"No, Malon, not a Bree party, a party being held for the bride and groom."

"Ah. Well. Gotcha. You holdin' up okay?" The soft wailings of a guitar floated through from the other side.

"I'm holding up just fine." Zelda smiled, touched by her friend's consideration. "Are you with the boys?"

"Hm? Oh, no, I'm playing a recording that I did of y'all the other day during practice. It's… um… oh, yeah, that 'Duck and Run' cover you did of Three Doors Down… wanna hear?"

"Actually…." Zelda shot a glance at Sterling, who was looking across the room. "I have someone who might want to hear more. Hold on." Zelda took the phone away from her ear, cupping her hand over the receiver, and looked at Sterling. "Do you want to hear some of our music?"

"Huh?" He took a moment to process the information, then shrugged. "Sure," he said impassively.

Zelda smiled weakly. "Great." She put the phone back to her ear. "Okay, Malon, I'm passing the phone to Sterling."

"Sterling, hmm? Why haven't you called me yet and told me about Sterling?"

"I've been busy, Malon, and I accidentally dropped my phone in the car on the ride up…"

"Suuure. You have to give me the four-one-one on this Sterling character, okay?"

Zelda rolled her eyes. "Okay, Malon. Here's Sterling." She passed the phone to him, and he put the phone awkwardly to his ear.

"Um… hello? …….. Yes, this is Sterling... What?" He looked over at Zelda. "No…… yes, I've heard about you….. yes, she told me about the band……. No, didn't hear anything about a party…… what? No……. yes, please."

Zelda rolled her eyes, and then looked at Jarrett. "Do you want to talk to her next?"

"Huh?" He'd been staring open-jawed across the room, and then snapped back to look at Zelda. "Ah… no thanks… some pressing business attends to me, yes…" He got up and hustled across the room; was unable to recognize the girl he was laying the charm on for, as her back was turned.

Sterling was watching Zelda's forehead, silent as he listened, an impressed look scrawled across his handsome features. She knew what he was hearing- a bizarre duet. Mikau and Zelda, in a burst of inspiration, had divvyed up the lines, Zelda singing half, Mikau singing half. They offered Darmani backup due to common courtesy, but he declined, saying he couldn't sing. They all knew it.

Idly, Zelda began to hum as she drummed her fingers on the table. "This world can't bring me down, no, I won't run away…." Why the hell was Sterling so inconsistent? The other night she thought they'd had a breakthrough but tonight he was vague and confusing and it was almost like being back at square one.

Zelda was jerked out of her thoughts. "Yes, that really was excellent," Sterling said suddenly, looking very impressed. "What? Original…. Zelda wrote it, you said? Well…"

Zelda looked up, mildly alarmed, then looked down. No stopping Malon.

"Alright, then, I guess I'll hear it….. hang on…" He looked up. "Zelda, Malon says she's going to play 'Duvet' for me…."

"Oh..." Zelda bit her lip and looked sideways. "It's kind of… sad…."

"Hmmm…." He listened, his face unreadable as he stared at the table, and Zelda waited pensively, fingers drumming on the table, absentmindedly tapping out the riff. After what felt like forever, Sterling said, "yes, I agree… yes, here she is…… yes, she is….. okay, here you go," and handed the phone back to Zelda.

"Ohmigosh, Zelda, I have to talk to you NOW," Malon screeched.

"Er, excuse me Sterling," Zelda said, standing up. "I'm going to go out on the balcony."

"Okay….."

Zelda felt bad about leaving him all by his handsome lonesome at the table, but at the same time, she was mad he hadn't asked to go with her, not to mention that she had the feeling that what Malon wanted her to say was not appropriate for Sterling's ears.

"Alright, Malon," Zelda said as she stepped out onto the overlook over Napa, the city lights sparkling like diamonds under the night. "What?"

"Spill the beans. Boy with accent equals amazing voice, is he hot, do you two have a thing, what about Link? Oh my GOSH, Zelda."

"Yeah, he's pretty hot," Zelda laughed, leaning out over the city, the cold not really bothering her, for once. "Amazingly so, actually. He grew up in France, then moved to Britain, and then moved here this year. He ignores me half the time, though. I'm not sure if we have a thing …."

"Well tell me everything," Malon insisted. Casting a longing look back inside, Zelda sighed.

"Okay, fine. Let's see…."

And she told everything.

She'd finally finished her story when the cold really began to get to her, and by then, Malon declared that Sterling was a bit of a jerk but that there was hope for Zelda, but unfortunately Zelda was going to have a tough time of things as good old Malon wasn't around to play matchmaker, and she had to go anyway since Darmani was at the door.

"Alrighty, Mal," Zelda said, ignoring the door opening behind her. "Yes, I'll call you later, I promise. Tell Darmani hello for me. Okay. Okay. Bye." She smiled softly as she flipped her phone shut and slipped it into her clutch, and for a moment, she remained looking out at the city.

Then there was something warm next to her.

"You look cold." It was Link.

"A bit. Malon wanted to know every detail of my visit so far." It wasn't exactly a lie. "She wouldn't let me go until she'd squeezed every last bit of information from my brain," Zelda stated piteously, pulling her shawl around herself.

"You haven't called her since you got here?"

"No."

Silence.

"Are you enjoying the party?"

"Yes, a bit. But, Zelda…"

"Yes?"

Link's face was strained in the darkness.

"He's not… he's hardly paying attention to you. Don't worry about the candy corn. We can call it off. I don't want you to get hurt. He's being a jerk, and ignoring you, so please, don't…"

"I won't."

More silence. Link straightened up, looking at the stars.

"I was just coming to find you," he said, "because I noticed you were gone, and they said they'll be bringing the food out in just a minute…"

She turned, looking up at him. "Alright. We'd better go in, then." Neither made a move.

"Are you really so lost, Zelda?"

"What do you mean?"

He looked distinctly frustrated. "It… nothing." He reached up, his hand idly playing with a wayward curl that hung above Zelda's shoulder. "I want you to be happy," he stated softly.

"As long as you're my friend, I am." She smiled at him, and he let go of her hair, his hand falling back to his side. He smiled at Zelda, a beautiful, brilliant smile.

"Let's go inside and get food. You look cold."

"I am cold," she said, suppressing a little shiver and grinning. "I'm always cold."

"Too bad for you," Link joked. "I guess that means I'll have to keep you warm." He wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"Oh, woe is me," Zelda moaned. "Doomed to be crushed!"

"Squish!" chirped Link, applying little more pressure on Zelda's shoulders and causing her knees to buckle slightly

"Ack, Link, no! I'm in heels… do you want me to break an ankle?"

"Fine, fine, spoil my fun," he heaved a fake sigh. "And I won't hurt you."

"You'd better not, or I'd hurt you back."

"Of course, princess. Of course."

Zelda felt an inexplicable soaring freedom as she walked with Link back inside.

&-

**Uploaded: Wednesday, March 2 **

**9:20 PM**

A/n: Hello, all. I'm exhausted and I've had a horrible past 3 days, so I'm sorry if it sucks. I felt the need to get this out, though, as it's a moving chapter, and as I've FINALLY finished writing book I, I'm going to get that edited and up as soon as I can.

To tell y'all a bit about what's going on in my life at the moment, as it's influencing my writing heavily:

My drill team is preparing for our spring show. Practice is grueling, the officers and directors are almost cruel in their demands for perfection. It is… hellish, in a word. And constant. Constantly on my mind, in my muscles. I'm in a perpetual state of exhaustion but I can't sleep. There's too much stress, from classes, from a tense family life, from a whole cornucopia of romantic problems, too, but I'll spare you the gruesome details. Not to mention the stress of getting this written, and yes, as much as I love it this story is a curse sometime as I swear and sweat and bleed over every page, as well as a book I'm trying to finish, autobiographical, hopefully done by this time next year. With any luck. That's why I'm announcing that, once book I is up, there will be **NO MORE UPDATES** until _after _my spring show is completed. This is for my good as much as it is for yours- if I were to attempt to continue working on this fic and uploading it at an attempted semi-constant rate, meltdown would occur.

One last thing. Moonbeam, you receive a slap in the face and a place on the wall of shame. You hit below the belt, my friend, and the blow was at possibly one of the worst times that I could have received something like that. I hope you're proud. You very nearly killed the story.

This goes out to all of you- constructive criticism is very, very welcome, but if you're going to only insult me and do so with horrible grammar, take that review and shove it up your ass. I'm serious. I absolutely refuse to deal with petty idiocy at the moment, as my life is swamped.

And Breas Darkdragon, for standing up for me again, the next chapter is dedicated to you.

Wow, that was much too long. I'm sorry for rambling. Thanks for sticking with me through this, guys. You have no idea how much I appreciate it. I'll get the rest of book I up asap.


	20. Gloves are Like Bras

**Twenty: Gloves are like bras**

The rest of the night had passed normally- Sterling had managed to behave towards Zelda as though she was a human worthy of his attention, and Zelda had managed to treat Sterling like a normal human as well, instead of as the jerk she was beginning to see him for. For courtesy's sake, Zelda danced with both Sterling and Jarrett once, and Link twice.

"Lalalalala." Link sang to Zelda as they'd turned across the floor. "You look relieved. Less stressed?"

"I'm feeling better. I mean, I'm upset, of course, as I just got dumped on my but basically, but really, I'm not too bad. How'd you notice?" Zelda asked, trying hard not to purposely step on his foot.

"You just told me."

"I hate you." Zelda flicked Link on the nose, laughing as he crumpled up his face in offense.

"Now, that wasn't very nice."

"Well I'm a princess." Zelda shook her head imperiously, her coiffure staying in firm place. "I can do whatever I want. The hell with being nice."

"Indeed, princess," stated Link with mock gravity. "But I'll let you know that for every time you get yourself in trouble, like you did with Sterling, I'll be there to save you."

"Why thank you Mr. Hero, but this princess doesn't need rescuing," Zelda stated contemptuously. "Nor will she ever. After this one time, that is." She had the sense to try and look ashamed. Not that she did very well- her smirk was too big.

The party had ended late into the night, and Zelda had piled into the limo with the exhausted Tudors (Saria and Jayda were unconscious) and her father, who had, oddly, had one too many martinis, and insisted on calling Zelda 'Aileen.' Every time she heard her mother's name, Zelda winced. Link's warm hand suffered a painful, bone-shattering squeeze whenever this happened. She thanked god that she at least had him. He'd been an angel to her that night.

She was glad to get back to the house, which was buzzing sleepily, and was glad to be alone in her room. She wasn't tired, though, so she took her hair down, removing the many bobby pins, and then took a long, hot shower, scrubbing herself clean and then just letting the warm water soak her through. She stepped out and pulled a fluffy white towel around herself, clipped her sopping wet hair up, and then padded around, first looking for underwear, and then on a search for her favorite pair of pajama pants, a navy and forest-green plaid pair she'd stolen from Link, back when the weather had started to go cold. Still not tired, she pulled on a faded, hole-riddled, soft gray Grateful Dead tee that had seen too many washings, then a simple, soft green long-sleeved button up (also Link's) and slid into her slippers, on a mission of something or other concerning food. She doubted many people would be awake at this ungodly hour of three twenty seven, so she trooped down the silent hallway and, for the first time in what felt like forever, she slid down the banister of the steep staircase, the feel of flight exhilarating her. She landed, her excess momentum sending her running, and it took half the usual time for her to get into the kitchen, trying not to laugh as she did so. She spun a few times in the darkness, then flipped the light switch and walked through the massive chef's dream to the fridge.

Zelda opened up the sleek, industrial-sized stainless steel door and pulled out a gallon of milk, and then walked to one of the cupboards and pulled out an expensive glass. She poured the milk into the glass, enjoying the sloshing sound it made, and then shoved the jug back into the fridge and wandered to the massive walk-in pantry. If she remembered correctly, there were always Oreos in the pantry, mostly due to Zelda's odd habit of midnight snacking, a habit that hadn't resurfaced until that very night, despite the length of her stay there so far.

She remembered right. Grinning, Zelda pulled out the package of 'double stuf' Oreos and closed the massive pantry door with her foot, wandering again to the gargantuan cabinets and pulling out an expensive plate, plopping it easily down on the granite island, next to her glass of milk. Feeling more at home than she had since she'd arrived (with the exception of stepping into her room), Zelda hopped up onto the counter and began to munch.

Ah, yes, this was life, she told herself contentedly as she dunked an Oreo into the big glass of milk. She was all alone in a massive kitchen at three in the morning, eating Oreos and milk and sitting on the expensive granite that one of the maids would kill her for sitting on, never mind that it was her house in the first place….

There was a squeak as the waiter's doors that led into the kitchen were pushed open. "Ah….."

"Eep!" Caught in the act. Zelda squeaked and looked up, then her face dissolved into a smile. "Oh, Link, it's just you. What're you doing up?"

"Why, stalking you of course," he stated with a grin, eyeing Zelda and her spot on the counter. "Why are you here?"

"I'm eating cookies and drinking milk at three in the morning, by force of habit. You?"

"Couldn't sleep, actually," he replied, walking over to stand across the island from her. "Thought I'd get some food. Mind if I join you?"

"Go ahead, be my guest," Zelda said, hopping down from the counter as Link heaved himself up. "Let me get you some milk."

"Okay, thanks." Link looked obscenely comfortable on the counter, and for a moment, Zelda stopped and took him in. He wore simple, solid green pajama pants and socks, and a white tee that had a picture of a wooden sword, over which "my other sword is vorpal" was inscribed -he'd tried to explain the joke to Zelda but had failed miserably. The shirt clung to his broad shoulders and chest, exposing every well-defined muscle. He leaned his head side to side, his neck cracking audibly as he did so, and then he rolled his shoulders around. Before he noticed her staring, Zelda hurried to pour the milk. What was wrong with her? It was just _Link_…

"Kind of a funny life you lead," he commented, arms resting on his knees as he watched her. "Isn't it?"

"Oh?" Zelda capped the gallon of milk carefully and put it back in the mammoth fridge, letting the door shut on its own. "How so?"

"Well, on the outside, at least, the face you show to all these people, you seem so… mighty, I guess. Like you're above everything and everyone. You know, like a princess. And then I wander in to find you sitting on the counter in this massive kitchen, eating cookies and drinking milk at three-thirty in the morning looking like just the average teenager, which is exactly what you act like at home. I'm confused. Everything I know about Zelda just got flipped."

"I am just the average teenager," Zelda said, plopping the milk in front of Link and pulling herself up onto the counter. "I mean, as average as I can be, anyway. The whole high-and-mighty thing is just an act. Or not really an act, per-se, but an adaptment to my surroundings, I suppose. You know, Darwinism. Survival of the fittest, adapting, evolution and all that jazz."

"I guess that makes sense."

"Of course it does," replied Zelda with a light laugh. She watched him for a moment, watched his beautiful pianist's hands as they carefully twisted the Oreo open and then promptly dropped both halves into his glass of milk. What a weirdo.

"Disgusting, I know," he stated with a grin, catching Zelda's incredulous look. "You know," he coughed in a slight discomfort, little pinwheels of red appearing on his face, which was still a light brown despite the long-gone summer, "I really am sorry about the Sterling thing, Zelda. It's my fault…."

"It's fine." Zelda took a gulp of milk to hide her shock and pain as the emotional anguish of being ignored resurfaced. "It was just a mistake."

"Still, I feel bad. I want to make it up to you..."

"Just be my friend," she stated simply. "That's all I ask."

"I can do that," Link replied in that beautiful wild voice of his.

They finished up the cookies, chatting quietly, and it was nearly four by the time Zelda had piled the dishes into the dishwasher and stumbled up the stairs with Link, now feeling truly tired.

"I'll see you in the morning," he said, embracing her briefly in front of his door.

"At lunch, most likely. I don't think breakfast or lunch is going to be strict until these parties end."

He laughed lightly, gleaming in the blue light of the moon flowing in from the massive windows at the far end of the hall, where the stairwell began. "Probably. Good night, Princess."

"Good night, Hero." They parted ways- she going the rest of the way down her hall, him going into his room, and finally, Zelda entered her room and turned the key in the lock, scooping up all the pillows from her bed and dumping them on the floor, then letting her hair down and crawling in between the soft but warm sheets, closing the drapes, and falling asleep instantly.

Her dreams that night were filled with soft smiles and beautiful blue eyes and heartbreak.

She didn't wake up until nearly eleven the next morning, yawning as she pulled herself out of her bed and into the bright light of her bedroom. She collapsed in her pile of pillows on the floor, just staring at the pink ceiling and the glittering chandelier. Not for the first time, she asked herself, _why a chandelier_? But the rainbows cast beautiful light all across the walls, and Zelda pretended as she often had that each rainbow was a smile from her mother. Feeling exhausted, she stood and clipped her messy bed-hair up, then peered cautiously out of her room, down the empty hallway. Quickly, hoping nobody would come along, she dashed to the room where Link was staying, knocked softly, and when he called a sleepy "come in" she entered.

"You're up early," Link stated from where he was lying in bed wearing a long sleeved shirt bearing the school's 'Fighting Eagle' mascot.

"Link, it's nearly eleven," she sighed in exasperation.

"Yeah, but you were up late, and you usually make up for that at home," he replied, and rolled over, clutching his pillow. "Come over here. I want to talk."

"You're so lazy," Zelda stated as she turned and sauntered over to the large queen-sized bed, plopping down on one corner and looking at her dearest friend in the world.

"I'm sorry. I really am."

"It's okay, Link," she replied, slightly exasperated. "It was a mistake. Don't worry about it."

"I still feel bad."

"How very kind of you. It's not an issue."

"But I _still _feel bad,"

"Don't," Zelda replied bluntly. "Honestly, Link. Don't antagonize over it. What's done is done, and… I've moved on." She made a little motion of "moving on" with her hands, and then sighed.

"You haven't have you?"

"Nope."

"Anything I can do?"

"Don't bring it up again."

"Of course." There was silence, and then, "Isn't there another party tonight?"

"Yeah," Zelda replied. "And another again tomorrow night, and then in two days is the wedding, which is an evening wedding, and the reception that night is lasting until at least midnight. Probably closer to three."

"What a mess," Link replied. "And then…. What?"

"After the wedding, some guests'll be leaving and others will be coming. There'll be more parties every night, though not quite as long, until Christmas, which is in a week, and then after Christmas, more parties every night and one long all-night party with lots of booze on New Years' day. Then everybody'll sleep, all day, and then the next day, everybody goes home, basically."

"Sounds exhausting," Link stated, rolling out of bed.

"It is," Zelda replied. "Quite. We'll be leaving with the rest of the guests, since I'm sure you want to go home and be with your friends. I'm sorry you have to be here, Link…."

"It's fine. I'm having fun. You know, this is like staying at a luxury hotel, with celebrities or something, and for free. And really, everybody is going places for Christmas and New Years' anyway, so I don't mind."

"I hope not. Let's go get breakfast."

"Alright, alright." Link stretched his arms and rolled his neck around, then grinned. "I'm going to give Sterling a talking to for you, okay?"

"Don't, please…"

"But he hurt you. He's dead. Nobody hurts my friends."

"Link, I'm sure he could snap you in half," Zelda replied, patting Link's head affectionately. "And I told you, it was a mistake. All he did was have some common courtesy and nothing more. It was stupid of me to make assumptions anyway."

Stately organ music filled the not-so-small chapel. Zelda sat second pew, her fiery crimson dress spread around her like a puddle of lava. Even though it was December, it was hot in the church, and it took all of Zelda's self control to keep from fanning herself with the pamphlet she'd picked up at the door. Her hair was off of her neck, though, and for that she was glad- again, the quaint southern girl had piled it high atop her head, and adorned it with red beads and a single red rose- Zelda wasn't sure were Laura procured the flowers, and, of course, never asked. Her silver pearl-and-ruby bracelet jangled lightly as she reached up and scratched her neck, from which dangled a ridiculously expensive Judith Jack "Tahitian-Style Pearl Necklace", which Audrey had forced her to wear in lieu of the simpler family locket. Zelda's eye was bothering her, but she forced herself not to rub it, because she couldn't run the risk of ruining her eye makeup, especially with so much press around. Yes, as it was the big day, the press was everywhere, snapping pictures of all the famous (and even not-so-famous) faces. Zelda hoped desperately that she wouldn't be featured on the cover of _People_ the next week.

Hardly paying attention, she stood with the congregation and sang, then sat down again, all the while staring at the crucifix on the wall. _I know the story behind my goddesses, and I know the truth. But what about you?_ She asked the form of tormented Jesus, eyeing him with curiosity. _I know about the sacred realm and the creation of the world and the triforce, but even then, is there a heaven and a hell? Or an almighty god like you claim? Were the three goddesses merely angels, sent to do your work?_

She wished desperately that she had the answers, and she looked at the back of her hand in the hopes that she would find them there in the three triangles that grew clearer with each passing day. At the moment, the triangles were becoming incredibly clear, and the one on the bottom left seemed to be filling in with a strange pattern. Zelda was mildly frightened, but Audrey had assured her that she would provide a solution for the triangles. In the meantime, Zelda hoped no paparazzi would see them and think they were a tattoo and snap a shot and then it would be all over the country. If Zelda's enemies were anything like Audrey had claimed, then Zelda would be in trouble. Lots of trouble. Without noticing it, she covered up her left hand with her right and continued to stare straight ahead.

Alexandria was drinking in all that the priest said from where she was kneeling next to her husband-to-be, son of a rich oil-company owner, with large ears and wild hair and a very prominent nose. Aside from the ears and the nose, though, he was very attractive, and very quiet- he did all that Alexandria asked him to and received love and affection in return. It seemed to Zelda like a bizarre but hardy match- she only hoped that her cousin's "celebrity marriage" would last. With luck.

Zelda wondered how much longer it would be before the wedding was over. She put on her best attentive expression and then released her mind to wander around wherever it pleased.

_Alexandra's dress is so pretty, it looks like sparkling snow but the petticoat is so big that it looks like it's going to swallow her, and I bet she's boiling. I'm boiling. This dress is so itchy and hot, and my hand hurts but I don't want to touch it in case I have an incident or something, which would be bad… hah, I can just see it now. What was that big light? Oh, nothing, just some old magic triangle that just so happens to be EMBEDDED IN THE BACK OF MY HAND, go back to your ceremony thanks. What's that? You want to haul me off to the loony bin? No thanks, I don't feel like it today, maybe tomorrow, and while you're at it, I suggest you check out old Virginia Perkins, she thinks her dog is her firstborn daughter… you know, it's funny that the line was always daughters, always, and that all of them accepted their fates. I wonder if there were any that I don't know about that didn't accept, or some rejected daughters or even sons? I don't know about the sons, that's an interesting one… I'll have to ask Audrey, or maybe even look for a book that has my lineage in it somewhere? Like that would ever happen yeah right…._

She stood up and began to sing, her thoughts hardly disrupted as she belted out the words she'd learned after being dragged to mass again and again by an old nanny that had never shown Zelda any love or affection.

_Wonder where the old hag is now? Wonder if her heart stopped beating again when she found out about the golden three and Hyrule and about the legendary hero and the legendary evil? I can't believe I believe this stuff, I must be really sleep deprived or sick or something because it's just so unreal, but I can't deny it, either, because I've got these stupid triangles on my hand…. Ugh, it itches so much, this is really irritating, but I can't scratch it, must not scratch it…. _

The song, ended, and Zelda sat back down. Her father grunted, shifting next to her, and Zelda sighed, jerking herself out of her thoughts. Didn't want to disappoint daddy dear, now did she?

Sigh. Her father was so difficult sometimes, but it was good to Zelda to see that he didn't have a bimbo at the moment. She hoped.

It felt like forever before the service was over. When, at last, the vows were taken and the organ boomed out the wedding march, Zelda followed her father out of the church, down the aisle, lightly humming "Blackbird" under her breath. She didn't catch a glimpse of the Tudors, or (thankfully) of Sterling before she found herself ushered out and into the limousine by her father, and she sat there, sipping sparkling water, letting her father have his martini as they wound through the downtown to the wedding reception, where it would be held on top of a massive ritzy hotel, the ritziest by far that they'd attended. Just inside the reception room, Audrey bustled up to Zelda and handed her a pair of red silk gloves.

"Put these on," the older woman instructed. "No chances."

"No chances," Zelda repeated, gratefully pulling the red silk accessories on. "I was starting to worry. Thanks, Audrey."

"Don't mention it, dear." Audrey bustled off to go speak with someone- she was very well liked, and Zelda was left to her own devices. Zelda wandered around the room, to the window overlooking the gardened courtyard below, thinking.

Sterling's parents would be arriving tomorrow. What would they think of her? Would they like her? Would they think she wasn't good enough, or possibly too good? What were they like, she wondered? Was his father cold and uncaring, like Zelda's own? Or was he like Haft, always working, but smiling and loving when he was home? And was Sterling's mother like Impa, always there and warm and happy and a pillar of strength and comfort, even if she was a little spacey at times? Or was she like the dead mother Zelda had never known? There were too many possibilities. It made her head hurt. Wait. Why did she even care? She shouldn't. Oh, no. By all means, she should _not_ care about Sterling Brûlure at all.

Her body told her there was something warm behind her. "Penny for your thoughts."

"Just wondering," she responded, not looking at Link as he moved to stand beside her.

"I see." He looked at her for a moment, and then looked out the window. "Those are nice gloves you're wearing. You weren't wearing them during the ceremony, though, were you?"

"No," Zelda replied absent mindedly. "My aunt just gave them to me."

"Why bother anyway? Seems like it'd be uncomfortable."

"She didn't get them for me before the wedding. I was originally supposed to be wearing them all day, but she just now got them to me. Better late than never. And I wear them because I'm supposed to look my best, whatever that means."

"Aw, you always look nice, Zel," he replied with a boyish grin, turning and scanning her up and down. "I wouldn't normally think red would suit you, but it suits you."

"You flatter me."

"Let's go sit down," he randomly stated, wandering towards the general amassed clump of tables.

"Somewhere near the bride and groom's table, please. I don't want to be seen as a disgrace to my family." She smiled, humor lacing her words and counteracting the supposed severity of her declaration, and Link, ever the one for contests of subtle humor, shrugged.

"I would think that deliberate insomnia and cookie-gorging fests were more your forte."

"Touché," ceded Zelda, allowing Link to pull her seat out for her. "Are Saria and Jayda going to sit with us?"

"Of course. But not for a while longer. Hopefully, we won't be joined…" He looked angry as he bit his lip, then sighed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up. Are you okay?" His eyes were like lightning, sending electricity sizzling through her veins with power. Wait. This was just Link! Why was she responding to Link this way?

"Hopefully. We can always tell them the spots are reserved. Don't worry, Link. I'm fine." Absently, Zelda began to hum "White Flag" by Dido. Link watched her for a moment, then exhaled, shaking his head.

"_I know you think that I shouldn't still love you,  
I'll tell you that.  
But if I didn't say it, well I'd still have felt it  
where's the sense in that?__" _he quoted. "Zelda, I'm not sure that's 'fine'." Zelda looked at him, shocked, then smiled.

"Actually, I didn't know those were the lyrics. We heard it in the limo on the way over."

"Oh." Link looked ashamed and grinned, leaning his head from side to side, his neck issuing an audible "POP!"

"That's disgusting," Zelda commented, making a face at Link as he straightened himself out. He smiled and began to laugh, and then she did too, though neither were sure what at. Through her giggling, however, Zelda noticed a young woman gracefully seat herself, and then, on either side of them, two young men. Sterling and Jarrett.

"Sorry, but there were no more tables," Jarrett proclaimed. ""May I ask to be let in?" Zelda slowly stopped giggling, but kept her smile on. The inevitable had just happened, and now she had to deal with Jarrett, who was annoying, and Sterling, who she didn't ever want to see again, not to mention that there was a very pretty, very dim looking girl sitting across the circular table from her. Oh well.

"Zelda was just laughing at something I did," Link replied, slightly terse. "There aren't any more tables?"

"Nope." Zelda wanted to scream at the look of disinterest on Sterling's face. _What_ was his problem?

"Allow me to introduce you," Jarrett said, turning to face the young woman. "Zelda, Lee," neither of the teens corrected him, "I would like you to meet Savannah Madison. She's a model for… Vera Wang, didn't you say?"

"That's right." Her voice was a husky bedroom voice, and Zelda felt her mood-o-meter drop down a couple points more, if that was possible. Zelda smiled sweetly, though, deciding to attempt niceness, and then said, "I'm Zelda Harkinian. This is my cousin's wedding- my father's sister's daughter."

"I'm _Link_ Tudor, a friend of Zelda's."

"I'm pleased to meet you both." She still didn't smile, though she looked less intimidating.

Zelda envied Savannah her looks- she was lovely, strikingly so, with an unusual sort of presence about her. Her lips were full, her eyes lovely and round, deep brown, her chocolate hair tied up in a wild knot, several sleek strands falling to frame her gorgeous face. Her skin was a perfect honeyed tone, and she wore her wild low silver and black fleur-de-lis nightmare _Dior_ dress well.

_Lulu's prettier than she is, though,_ Zelda thought deep within her brain, and she smiled. _Lulu's the prettiest person I've ever seen._

Jarrett struck up a conversation with Sterling, and Zelda studied her water goblet, interjecting comments from time to time. Link played his part admirably- had Zelda not known better, she would have thought Link rather liked Sterling and Jarrett, which she knew all to well that she did not. Zelda smiled all that she could and played the part of the good hostess, but as the noise grew louder in anticipation of the speeches, Zelda noticed something odd.

The back of her left hand was itching.

Carefully, Zelda rubbed it against the bottom of the table, hoping that that would make it better, but the itching only got worse. She tried to ignore it, but the itching only became more irritating and slowly, pain began to set in. Zelda became distracted, withdrew from the conversation, and began to wonder, what the heck was going on? The best man made a speech, the maid of honor made her speech, Zelda's cousin and her husband both made speeches, and the dinner began, and by then Zelda's hand was hurting so badly that she thought she may start to scream. Link noticed.

"Zelda, are you alright?" he leaned in and asked softly as the last of the toasts ended.

"I've… got to go talk to my aunt. I'll be back in just a minute." Though conscious that it had been rude, Zelda stood and walked over to where Audrey was sitting with several actors and producers that she'd worked with.

"Audrey, can I talk to you for just a minute?" She did her very best to keep her voice from sounding strained.

"Sure," Audrey replied with a smile, and then excused herself. "I'll be right back."

Zelda led Audrey out of the dinner to the observation deck, and then, certain that they weren't being watched or overheard, turned to her aunt.

"My hand itches," she stated, doing her very best not to rip off her glove then and there.

"Your hand itches. I see." Audrey bit the inside of her lower lip, looking out over the city. "Left hand? Top of it?"

"Yes, top of my left hand. Really itches." This time Zelda did scratch, causing her fingertips to buzz. Audrey continued to look out over the city.

"It may be a reaction," she said finally. "Of the triforce to being covered. You know, how the first time you wore a bra, you felt very uncomfortable?"

"Yeah…" Zelda answered.

"This is probably the same sort of thing. Go ahead and air your hand out now for a bit, and we can have a look at it and see if it looks normal. Some lotion might help, too. I've got some in my purse."

"Right." Zelda gratefully pulled off the glove, blowing on the back of her left hand. It didn't look red or irritated, but it was still bothering her all the same.

"It looks fine," Audrey voiced Zelda's thoughts, carefully tilting Zelda's left hand side to side in the light of the deck. "Is it feeling better now that you've got it out in the air?"

"Much," Zelda replied with a sigh. Audrey nodded in understanding.

"You'll have to just deal with it, Zelda, I'm sorry," she stated. "But you can't come out here every five minutes to air out your hand. You need to get used to how it feels. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Zelda replied, allowing Audrey to rub lotion over the back of her hand. "I understand. I didn't really choose this, but I have no choice so I might as well do my best."

"Good attitude," Audrey praised, smiling at her niece. "I'm proud of you, Zelda. Are you about ready to go back in?"

"Yeah," Zelda replied, regretfully pulling her glove back on. "I'm ready."

The press were still everywhere as they walked back in, special reporters snapping photos and recording the events of the dinner. Zelda forced herself to look pleasant as she walked through them, her fiery orange-red dress swirling tempestuously around her legs as she made her way back to her table. The ribbons from her crimson high heels that tied up to nearly her knees were irritating her, but she forced herself to wear her ridiculous ensemble as though it was natural.

You are part of a line of ancient queens, Zelda reminded herself. The heir, born with noble blood in her veins. Nobody here can even begin to compare with you. You've moved mountains.

There was a little extra sway in her walk as she seated herself back down at the table, a waiter buzzing over to help her into her chair and give her a new napkin. Zelda thanked him, and then, smiling and blocking out her left hand, she allowed herself to return to the conversation, sipping her champagne.

The meal began. First was an appetizer of bread, then the salad, and then after that, escargot and delicious poached salmon with a delicious sauce dribbled over it, rice and vegetables. After that, there was some soup, and then dessert of the delicious white wedding cake, and the chocolate groom's cake, with its little strawberries dressed up in icing tuxedos. The evening had flown, Zelda thought to herself as she allowed Sterling to lead her out onto the dance floor. How odd. She danced with Sterling. She danced with Jarrett. She danced with Link. She danced with Haft and danced with her father, and she even danced once with the groom. Then she was dancing with Link, and then a boy named Anderson, a very famous lawyer's son, and then she was dancing again more and more, then sitting down and getting a drink and dancing again. She was hardly thinking, slipping totally into the part of a good hostess, wondering about things in the back of her mind, things such as how long was left and what were Link's real parents like? She was shocked to find herself in the limousine at nearly three o'clock, and, shaking her head and blinking, she wondered where all that time had gone? She could clearly remember going out on the balcony with Audrey, and then going back in and beginning the meal, and some of the conversation….

_Huh,_ Zelda said to herself. _How strange. It's not like a blackout, but more like a… I don't know. Huh._

Oh, and she remembered the bouquet toss and the garter toss, how the bouquet had landed just short of her, the garter on a puzzled boy's head. That had amused her quite a bit.

She was very glad when she arrived home, but she wasn't very tired even though it was nearly half after three in the morning, so she gratefully stripped off her gloves and dress, let her hair down, took a long, warm shower and then sauntered down to the kitchen for her usual midnight rendezvous with Link. Sure enough, he appeared at four fifteen, yawning and smiling.

"Hello," he said, pulling himself to sit on the island counter across from Zelda. She'd already set out a glass of milk for him and pulled out the large, nearly-gone bag of Oreos.

"Hi," she replied with a smile, dunking her Oreo in milk and shoving the soggy mess into her mouth. "Glad it's over?"

"Yeah," he replied with a sweet, sleepy smile that made her heart melt. "It's going to be a bit less crowded now, isn't it?"

"Mmmmhm. A bit. My father's going to be throwing a bunch of Christmas parties and stuff for his colleagues, but the number of guests in the house will decrease. Sort of."

"I can't believe those asses just sat down with us," Link grumbled. "And I can't believe Saria and Jayda decided to sit with my parents." He shook his head. "Weird."

"Very." Zelda took another cookie, sighing, then grinned. "Jarrett and a model. Who could have guessed it?"

"Not I," Link replied, looking spooked, then popped a cookie in his mouth, taking in a large gulp from his glass of milk. "We probably shouldn't stay down for too long, you know," Link stated.

"Oh?"

"People will start getting here tomorrow around noon probably, and I know you and your dad, and..."

Zelda did her very best not to choke on her cookie. "Yes. I'll need to greet them."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

Link stretched, and Zelda watched in fascination as the muscles in his exposed arms rippled. He was wearing a white tank that night and the pair of green pajama pants he'd first worn downstairs. "I don't know about you, but I'm going to go to bed now."

"Mm." Zelda swigged down the last of her milk, then wiped her mouth on the back of her hand. "Me too."

"Let me walk you up," Link said, putting the cookies back in the cupboard as Zelda rinsed the glasses and stashed them in the washer.

"Never," Zelda replied sarcastically, and let him lead her from the kitchen, turning off the light as she went.

"Say Zelda," he asked her as they passed the windows out onto the back porch through which moonlight clearly illuminated them both, "what _is_ that on the back of your hand?"

"I… Link, it's a secret. I can't tell you. I'm sorry." If there was one thing Zelda couldn't do, it was intentionally lie to Link.

"It's okay," he replied in turn. "It's just odd… I've never noticed it before. It looks almost like Pascal's Triangle."

"It does, doesn't it?" Zelda examined the triangles on the back of her hand, storing this newfound information away in the back of her brain. They began to ascend the elegant curving stairs, Zelda's hand unconsciously trailing on the banister for balance as they climbed. They reached the second floor and stopped for a moment, looking out the multi-floored windows onto the porch, the pool, and the gardens beyond. Then they walked down the hall.

"I'll see you in the morning," Link said, softly touching the back of Zelda's hand- her right hand.

"Yeah," she replied, then smiled. "Noon. I'll be up. Good night."

"Good night."

She watched him shut the door behind him and stood for a while longer, watching as the light clicked on within and there was the sound of his movement, and then she set off down the long hallway to her bedroom. Once in, she collapsed into bed and was out like a light. Her last thought before she went to sleep was, _I hope Audrey comes up with a solution for these stupid triangles soon_.

And then she was off in dream land.

&-

**uploaded****: Saturday, March 05**

**10:39 PM**

**A/N:** I AM SO TIRED. We had a six hour dance practice this morning that involved lots of kicking and lots of fast jazz. collapse

So, umm, I totally did not absorb what I just edited this chapter, and as I wrote it a while back… oh well. I think (?) that Sterling is beginning to show up for the jerk that he really is…. And don't worry, the next chapter is a very moving chapter, lots of fluff, quite a bit of action but it's still a bit hazy.

Thank you all for your responses. My day wouldn't be made without them. And now I am to go pass out, and stuff, but before I go…

I'M GOING TO SEE CIRQUE DU SOLEIL! Beware, inspiration most definitely WILL follow and if it's half as good as I'm expecting it to be, you can keep your eyes open for another fic hopefully soon, but possibly in a different category. shrug Oh well…

Hope you enjoyed it. Drop a note in plezzz. G'night and have a very merry Saturday.


	21. Fever

**Twenty-One : Fever**

Of course it would be just Zelda's luck to be sick the next morning when she woke up. She tried to get out of bed, and after a good five minutes of nauseated struggling she succeeded, crawling to her door and down the hall to Link's room, where she knocked on the wooden panel several times. A rustle of sheets drifted out from within, as well as a sleepy "eh?"

"Link," Zelda said hoarsely, "come out here. I'm not feeling so good…"

"Zelda?" His voice was clearer, and she heard the pad of his feet on the carpet, and then the door squeaked open and Zelda fell inwards, crashing into Link's legs.

"Hi," she said woozily. "I'm sick. Could you let everybody know please, and maybe help me back to my room?"

"Why'd you even get out of bed in the first place?" Link stooped down, gathering Zelda easily in his arms and hoisting her up. If she'd been thinking clearly, Zelda would have recognized Link's great strength, but as it was, she was just glad she didn't have to move herself.

"Well I had to tell somebody," she stated, looping her arms around Link's neck, and then she buried her head in his shoulder. "Ughhhh, I don't feel so good…"

"Almost there," he said to her as they walked into Zelda's room. "Hold on- I'll get you a bowl," Link added, gently laying Zelda down in her sheets and arranging her. "If you're gonna puke, just hold it."

"Mmph, thanks. You know, this is funny," she stated. "I felt perfectly fine yesterday… wait… except I kind of couldn't remember most of the night and… oh, Link, hurry up with that bowl…."

"Do you have a jug or anything in here?" He called from the bathroom.

"Yeah, by the tub…"

"Found it," came his jubilant exclamation, and he rushed in and tossed it to Zelda.

And not a moment too soon. Link sat down next to Zelda and held her hair out of her face as her stomach came out through her mouth, not saying anything, rubbing her gently on the back with his free hand. When she was done, he took the jug into the bathroom and emptied it out, and brought Zelda a glass of water.

"Ugh." She was wiping her mouth on the back of her hand, making a face as she did so. "Disgusting. Thanks, Link. You're a real friend."

"You're welcome, princess." He swept her hair out of her eyes gently and sat down next to her carefully, tying the drapes on her bed back. "Would you like me to stay with you?"

"It would be great if you could get me an actual bowl first, and tell everybody that I'm sick. Tell Dad, too," she added. "Especially Dad. And get Audrey."

"Alright." He touched the back of his hand to her forehead and frowned. "You're boiling. Where's a thermometer?"

"Audrey'll take care of things. Whenever I was sick when I was little, she'd come and take care of me. Really sick, that is. Colds were a no go. But go tell them, okay? I'll still be here in ten minutes."

"Alright…" Link looked unsure, and grabbed the jug from the bathroom, putting it next to Zelda. "Just in case. I'll be back in just a minute."

"Alright." She was sad to see him go, but as soon as he'd left, she looked at the back of her left hand. It was red and throbbing, the six lines that made up the three triangles swollen and oozing pus. Carefully, she touched it, and a wave of nausea engulfed her. She grabbed the pitcher and dry-retched, then laid back into the pillows Link had so considerately arranged for her.

"Bleh." She really did feel awful.

Thank goodness it wasn't too long before Link showed up again with an industrial-sized bowl from the kitchen, and Audrey.

"Hi Audrey," Zelda croaked. "Problem."

"Oh, baby…" Audrey hurried forward to sit next to Zelda. "How are you?"

"Awful," she said. "It's my hand…."

Audrey shot a glance down to Zelda's hand and her face became clouded. "Oh dear. This can't be good…"

"Do you know what's wrong?" Zelda clutched a pillow dizzily.

"I've never heard of this happening before. I'm going to have to…" Audrey turned around and eyed Link up and down. "Zelda, is it wise to have him in here?"

"He won't say anything," Zelda mumbled. "Link, lock the door. And don't repeat anything you hear, okay?"

Silently, he complied, an expression of ill-concealed curiosity on his face.

"Anyway, as I was saying, Zelda, I'm going to have to contact the old ones."

"What, the sects? I thought they'd died out."

"No," Audrey replied. "Only the rock, water, and tree people. Those of the shadows and the sands are still around. And, of course, you."

"Are you going to contact the sands?"

"No," Audrey replied. "The shadows. They still exist today in what is considered a radical cult, though the sister to the _countessa war_ fled some forty years ago with her own daughter, who is the heir to the bloodline. They had a dispute, I believe; the _countessa minor_ felt that the shadow beliefs were being warped and took her child to live in the light but taught her the ways of the darkness. That's who I've got to find, but I've got no idea how…" Audrey heaved a frustrated sigh, then fluffed Zelda's pillow. "May I change the subject and ask about that hand of yours?"

"It's awful," Zelda rasped, holding it out for Audrey to see. "Don't touch it, please. It hurts, though, and when I touched it earlier it made me feel any worse… do you think it has something to do with the glove?"

"No," Audrey replied, inspecting Zelda's hand carefully. "That's never happened before. I would know about it, and you would know about it. Where's the box? There might be something about it in the book?"

"Armoire," Zelda croaked. Audrey stood and left, and Link sat down in her place.

"Are you going to fill me in on what's going on?"

"You wouldn't believe us if we told you," Audrey replied from within Zelda's armoire. "In the bottom, Zelda?" The teen gave a wheezy affirmation, and Audrey continued, addressing Link once more, "I want you to pretend like what has happened never happened, what's about to happen never happened, and that Zelda just came down with the flu, or an old injury on the back of her hand reopened the other night… ah, here it is." Audrey emerged from the armoire and returned to sit on Zelda's other side. "Zelda, I'm afraid you're going to have to open this for me."

"Why?"

"The seal only appears to firstborns who are of age," Audrey said. "Keeps secrets safe. Have a look." She tilted the box upwards and Zelda saw that, in fact, the insignia on the bottom was not there when Audrey held it. Feeling like she'd been hit by a truck, Zelda reached out and took the box, opening the top and pulling out the locket.

"Zelda, what's that?" Link asked, spotting the pipes of light within.

"It's nothing," she replied with a croak.

"No, no, it's something," Link stated. "I could swear I've seen that before…"

Zelda and Audrey shot glances at one another, and, coming to a silent conclusion, Zelda pulled out the halved ocarina and handed it to Link.

"It's an old heirloom. We only have half. I don't know who has the other half."

"Funny," Link said, turning it over in his hands. "It's almost like… I don't know. But I could swear… so strange…." He ran a thumb along the strange text carved into the back, which Zelda knew to be ancient Hylian, and then returned it to its owner. "Am I going to have to forget about that thing, too?"

"Yes," Audrey replied, helping Zelda put it back in the box and close the lid, but not lock it. "Go on, Zelda, get the book."

"Alright." Zelda pressed the locket into the insignia that appeared to her, and the bottom of the box fell out, and Audrey took up the book.

"I don't suppose you think you've seen this ever before either, Link?"

"Never in my life," he said, watching as Zelda put the locket back in the box and shut and locked the lid. "But that…. Flute… thing…."

"Mmph."

"What's that on the back of your hand, Zelda?"

"You wouldn't believe me," Zelda croaked in reply, parroting her words of last night. "Maybe someday I'll tell you, but for now, just… it's a scar, and I got it with you when we were out on the beach and I slipped and fell on some sea glass. Do you think you can remember that? I'll need you to be my backup."

"Beach. Fell. Sea glass. Gotcha. Do you need me to get anything?"

"Not right now," Zelda replied. "Just go… have you apologized to Dad for me yet?"

"No," Link said, standing. "I'll do that now. I'll be back in a bit, if that's okay."

"Yeah, thanks," Zelda croaked, and burrowed deeper into the cushions, watching Link as he left.

"I know you're firstborn, heir, and you carry the triforce of wisdom," Audrey said from where she was searching through the book, "but as your aunt and only other surviving member of the royal line, I do have to question your judgment. Is it necessarily a good idea to let him know so much?"

"He won't say anything," Zelda replied. "And I think…. I think he may bear courage."

"You what?" Audrey's words were as sharp as the sudden look she threw over the book to Zelda. "Why would you think that?"

"His left hand touched mine the other day," Zelda said, "and an electric shock went through us both, not like a static shock but like the way it feels when I do that weird activation-y thingy whatever. And do you think that the triforce may be resonating? You know, this could be a delayed reaction?"

"But even if he does bear courage or is destined to, how will he receive it? He's an orphan. No family to tell him or pass it on, no magic, no traditions, nothing."

"I don't know," Zelda replied. "But… you know, in the story, the fairy boy didn't know, either, until the queen told him in the end, just before the king of darkness stole her away. He didn't even know his lineage. A tree spirit told him."

"But even still." Audrey was exasperated. "There's no definite way we can know, and no way we can tell him. He very well may be courage, but we can't know for sure unless it appears on him."

"There's a chance," Zelda said. "There's always a chance."

"Zelda…." Audrey flipped a page, then sighed and looked up. "Don't let your emotions get in the way. If he is courage- especially if he is courage- you can't risk things on him. Do you remember what happened to our ancestors?"

"The hero disappeared and never returned," Zelda replied, rolling over and curling up. "He didn't save them from the waters as they prayed he would. But then, a descendant of his appeared a century later and ended the problem once and for all."

"And then he left," Audrey stated, flipping a page. "He left the queen and nothing was heard of him again. Zelda, I know it's the modern world, but I'm not going to lie to you. If he's courage, then this is very, very bad for us."

"Why?"

"Where wisdom and courage are, power is never too far away. Even though times are different now, power is still corrupting, and, if it touches the mind of someone who is not totally pure, which is virtually unheard of today, in a word, we're screwed. Mass chaos. Trauma. Probably war. And you're still too young to burden something like that."

"This is like a really bad sci-fi /fantasy cross over…" Zelda laughed hoarsely. "Let's hope he's not courage. Let's hope that we're fine."

Audrey nodded. "Yes." Link entered then, and Audrey stood. "I'm going to go see if I can get any leads on our contact. There's nothing in the book."

"Put it away?"

"Of course." Audrey put the book in the bottom of the box and closed it, then stashed it in the back of Zelda's armoire, where she'd found it. "Get me if there's any problems. Do you want me to bring you some soup in a few hours?"

"Yes, thanks," Zelda croaked.

"Alright. I'll leave you be, then. And Link, remember…" Audrey waggled a finger at the attractive young man, "it never happened."

He was clueless. "What never happened?"

"Good." Audrey was please, and she smiled softly at her niece one last time before she left. "Be well, Zelda. Get better by Christmas."

"I'll try." Audrey was gone then and Link pulled himself to sit on the bed next to Zelda, and he took her sweaty left hand in his own right and stroked her hair.

"How you feeling?"

"Like I got hit by a truck," Zelda laughed weakly.

"Well, Sterling's parents are here, and your Dad's with them, so he may not show up for a while. Is that okay?"

"That's fine," said Zelda tiredly, curling into the warmth of Link.

"You can rest now, okay?"

"Okay, Link," she rasped, and fell asleep with a small smile on her face. Link looked softly down at her, his best friend in the world, rubbing slow circles on her back. She really was so pretty, and even in her ailment she looked as regal as a queen. Frowning, Link looked at the back of her left hand, which looked like a reopened, infected wound.

"Oh, Zelda…." He sighed, wrapping his free arm tighter around her as she shivered in her fever, uncaring of the possible consequences that might come with such intimate contact. "What sort of mess are you in? Don't you know you can tell me anything and I'll believe you?"

Restlessly, she mumbled and shifted in her sleep, away from Link, and he sighed, standing. He walked over to her bookshelf, picking up a fat tome of mythology and plopping down on her reclining couch to read, waiting for his princess to wake up.

-&-

It all passed in a feverish haze to Zelda. Link giving her water, Audrey feeding her soup. Impa sitting by her and brushing her hair out of her eyes or planting a gentle motherly kiss on her forehead. But mostly there was the darkness and the haze.

She slept.

Link plus Audrey stayed home from the ritzy party that night, taking care of Zelda when she needed it, staying with her, holding her hand- in her feverish haze, hallucinations had begun. She cried out and rambled unintelligibly- to all except Audrey, that was, whose face grew drawn and pale at what her niece was saying. But she could not usher Link out, and so she left Zelda to her dream.

-&-

It was the strangest feeling she'd ever experienced. She was in someone else's head. Hearing their thoughts, or perhaps thinking their thoughts? There was something familiar, something familiar yet strange, but…

Who was she again? She tried to raise her hands to touch her face only to find that they didn't move- she couldn't move them… wait, did she even have hands? What was she?

The first thing that she noticed was that it was dark. But perhaps that was….

"Funny." Violet eyes opened to face the canopy of a rich bed. "I could have sworn there was a voice in my head… the goddesses, perhaps?"

The young princess rose from sleep and wandered to the window.

"I can't sleep," she said quietly to herself. "I feel haunted, or maybe a little sick. Something's going to happen. Why can't I see it? Why won't the future appear to me?"

She put one hand to the cool glass of her window out to the night, leaning her forehead against the windowpane. It felt unusually warm. Something was going to happen that night. Something…

Hardly thinking, she dressed, then removed the ocarina of time from where she'd hidden it, in her vanity.

And not a moment too soon.

Impa burst in the door and swept the young princess up in her arm and then fled to the stable. Zelda understood that she must be quiet and must not ask questions. It must be the night they'd been anticipating- Ganondorf was finally making his move.

Rather than fear consuming her at what many would consider certain and impending doom, she closed her eyes and summoned her nocturnal energy, weaving a spell for the Ocarina.

"Link…. When you get this Ocarina, I won't be around anymore…."

-&-

She was thrashing in her sleep, talking faster than Audrey would have believed possible.

"Zelda, Zelda, it's okay," Link whispered to her, stroking her forehead. "It's okay."

"Link," Audrey's face was grim, "I'd like you to leave the room. I don't want her to hurt you. She's delirious. She doesn't know what's going on."

"No. She's like a sister to me. I'm not leaving. " Link's face was set with determination.

"I don't think she'd want you to see her like this right now. Why don't you at least go and get us some dinner, okay?"

"Okay." As he left, he turned to Audrey, face drawn. "Is she going to die?"

"No," Audrey replied. "She's… I don't know what's going on."

"No idea?" Link looked uncertain, skeptic.

"None," Audrey replied solemnly. "I can fathom a guess or two, but I'd prefer not to. I'm not a doctor."

"Do we need to call one?" Link looked down at the thrashing Zelda.

"No," Audrey replied. "No, not yet. Please, Link. Go get us some food."

-&-

Three years had passed. Zelda- now a Sheikah boy- was drawing water from the well for Impa. They'd settled a little house near Lake Hylia, a dilapidated old thing that Impa had commanded her "son" to fix.

"Mom, water," Zelda called in her deepening voice. Puberty was a strange thing for a single gender- it was even stranger for Zelda having to go through both. Sometimes she was very confused, not sure if she was the girl or the boy, and then there were the times when it was almost like she was being watched, or she was watching herself.

She shook her head. She was still thirteen. It was too much for her to handle.

"Good, son, bring it in and put it on the fire. It's bath day."

"But I went swimming yesterday," came the complaint. "I don't want to."

"You will anyway," Impa replied stonily. "You were up on the roof in the sun all this afternoon and you reek like a re-dead."

"Come on now Mom, I'm not that bad am I?"

"Worse." Impa's mouth quirked up in a smile as she smiled at her "son". "Put it on the fire, that's it, and go outside and work on the garden. I'll call you when it's heated."

"Fine, fine." The princess in disguise heaved a sigh, then wandered out into the garden. "You're such a slave driver."

"You still need a lot of work," Impa replied from the doorway. "If you're going to be ready for the coming in four years."

"Yeah," she whined, kneeling to yank at the weeds. "Four whole years."

"And you need to get that attitude problem fixed," added Impa. "Now work! I don't want to see a single weed in that garden."

"Blah blah, fine."

-&-

Link was tired, and Zelda was only getting more delirious and feverish by the minute. She was crying out occasionally, rolling, and every once in a while, tears would stream down her face.

As much as he hated to ask it, it was a practical question. "What happens when people start coming home to go to sleep? We can't have her screaming all night…"

"That won't be a problem," Audrey replied. "The walls in this house are soundproof. Or most of them, anyway. Especially Zelda's though. She'd listen to a lot of loud rock, and her father finally got tired of it and soundproofed the area around Zelda's room."

"Ah…."

A long time passed. "Are you sure we shouldn't call a doctor?"

"A doctor wouldn't be able to help her," Audrey replied softly as she watched her niece's face. "We need to wait this out."

A while longer passed. He wasn't sure how long. All he knew was that he was worried and that it was very dark outside. He considered asking Audrey for the time, but then decided against it- the older woman seemed lost in her thoughts.

_What was going on?_

Link looked down into the contorted face of Zelda in search of an answer, watching as her brows furrowed in an expression of pain and she screamed shrilly.

-&-

She fell to the ground and hastily rolled aside, grinding her teeth against the immense pain in her leg. The bone was broken, it felt like. Very, very broken. But that didn't matter to her enemy, and so Zelda reached for her sword and blocked as best she could, then kicked swiftly upwards, effectively knocking the skeletal stalfos off balance. Before it had time to react she'd diced apart the few remaining ligaments and it clattered to the ground, a heap of useless bones, and then, hissing in pain, she limped away.

She was so useless! How was she supposed to get anywhere like this? Honestly! She'd be lucky if she even made it through to the other end of the maze. But if she didn't, the hero would have no guide upon his return….

Grinding her teeth, she sat down and grabbed a vial of red potion, and then pushed her protruding, snapped bone back into place and doused it with a good healthy mix of potentially toxic herbs. Gagging at the reek, she leaned back against the wall, waiting for her strength to return, and then stood, limping, and continued on her way once more….

-&-

A strange language was pouring out of Zelda's mouth. Link looked to Audrey, who was aghast.

"Audrey, _what_ is going _on_?"

"I can't even comprehend it," Audrey stated. "I don't know. It's almost like she's…." carefully, Audrey put her ear to Zelda's cheek, listening.

"….one in a house of the dead, one in a goddess of the sand…."

Audrey cursed, long and hard, and Link looked up in awe at her extensive vocabulary.

"Zelda'd kill you for that, you know," he stated. Audrey took a deep breath, then looked down at her niece.

"Link. Don't talk about this to anyone, _especially _not her. And prevent anybody you can from calling a doctor. She never had this hallucination, do you understand?"

He nodded, then unsteadily asked, "What's going on?"

"Wait and see," Audrey replied. "After she wakes up, she may be able to tell us. Maybe. If she wakes up any time soon, that is…"

"If…." Link looked down at Zelda's sleeping face, feeling his heart wrench.

"Goddesses, Zelda," Audrey whispered, too low for Link to hear. "What will become of us?"

-&-

She awoke some thirty minutes later with a scream like a banshee. Her pupils were dilated, her cheeks flushed, her breathing unsteady and her heartbeat irregular. She began to claw wildly, thrashing.

"Zelda, Zelda, calm down," Audrey said. "Calm down. It's me, Audrey. And Link. Calm down, Zelda. Calm down."

"How do you know who I am?" They weren't her words, they were the words of a possessed woman, psychotic, unreasonable. Hysteric. Almost like a woman in mourning…

"You are Zelda Harkinian." Audrey spoke calmly. "It is two-thirty in the morning on Sunday, December twentieth, one thousand, two hundred and forty seven post-realm. You are lying in your own bed. You are ill with fever. Zelda, breathe. You just had a hallucination. Calm down."

"One two four seven… the rivers of time…" She was breathing hard, looking around wildly. "The portal. What of the portal?"

"Underwater," Audrey replied. "Beneath the seas.. Hopefully, it will stay that way forever.'"

"I see." Zelda closed her eyes, breathing in deeply, and then looked around. "I'm sorry, to have caused you so much trouble, Audrey, Link." It was definitely Zelda talking again,

"It's fine, Zelda. How are you feeling?"

"A bit better." She nodded, then yawned. "But I am tired. Very tired. Would you mind leaving me for the night?"

"Not at all. Are you sure you're feeling a bit better?"

"Yes. I think I'll be staying in bed tomorrow though, thanks. Goodnight Audrey, goodnight Link. You don't have to worry anymore. I'm doing better now, I think."

Audrey fussed a little, uncertain. "Well, if you're sure."

"I am. You can go to bed now. Goodnight. I love you both."

"You too," Link said brainlessly, whereas Audrey went and gently kissed her niece on the forehead.

"Be well," she whispered. "Goodnight, Zelda." She walked to the door with Link, turning off the light and pausing for a moment as Zelda's sigh and the rustle of sheets wafted to their ears.

Audrey and Link stepped out the door, closing it with a quiet click, and Link turned to face Audrey, confusion in his eyes.

"Tell me what's going on," he insisted. "Now."

"Tell you what's going on?" Audrey asked innocently. "Link, let's get you to your room. I think Zelda may have contaminated you. Or perhaps you're so tired you're hallucinating."

"Hallucinating? But Zelda, _she_ just was hallucinating, and then she wakes up and says, 'don't worry, I'm fine now' and we just walk out… what's it all supposed to mean! Just…"

"Just what?" Audrey asked, leading Link to his room.

"When she first woke up, she was definitely not Zelda, and you two said something about a portal, and…." The sheer madness of it all hit him. Audrey's face was a mask of confusion.

"Link, she never said anything like that," Audrey replied. "She woke up and asked us to please leave her, that she was feeling a little better and wanted to be left alone. Are you sure you're feeling alright?"

Exhaustion hit him like a dead weight. It had seemed so surreal anyway. Yeah, maybe he was just losing it.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You know what, maybe you're right. I'm tired. I'm going to bed now. Good night, Audrey."

"Good night, Link. Don't bother getting up in the morning. I'll come and check on you, in case you're sick too."

"Okay," Link stated wearily. "Thanks."

He trooped of to his room, feeling unsettled. He looked at the clock- three in the morning. Where was everybody anyway? And what exactly had happened in Zelda's room anyway? He couldn't' remember very clearly… he was so tired…

He collapsed fully clothed on his bed and was out like a light.

&&-

**uploaded: ****Saturday, March 12, 2005**

**5:43 PM**

**A/N: **Wow. It's only 5:30 and I'm exhausted… three cheers for the SAT. shudder Eesh.

Anyway, this was a different sort of chapter, not like anything really encountered in this story before, but a revelation as to the past anyhow. YES, everything will be explained later on and I know it's kind of confusing now, but things will get clearer. Eventually.

Anyway, going out tonight, must go nap before nocturnal downtown activities begin. Review, everybody! I love you all.


	22. More Gloves, Sheik, and the New Year

**Twenty two: More gloves, Sheik, and a dangerous new year**

It was Christmas morning, and Zelda had still only gotten out of bed to go to the bathroom or clean herself up, each time with help from Audrey.

For some strange reason, her legs were too weak to support her.

And now on Christmas morning, she was lying propped up on pillows in her absurdly soft bed, watching the morning news on a large TV that had been hauled in. On it, there was a trio of merry 'elves' singing Christmas carols and dancing with bells. Nobody in the house was awake yet, she thought, and so Zelda was stuck on her own in her sheets being bored watching bad acting. And it was Christmas.

"Great time for my legs to go out on me," she mumbled, feebly twitching her toes. At first, Audrey had worried that it was paralysis, that she'd hurt herself during the course of one of her hallucinations, but Zelda could move her legs. They would just buckle underneath her whenever she tried to stand or walk, and crawling got her nowhere.

So she stayed in bed, even though she was feeling fine.

"Knock knock," rang softly from the door. It was Link! Beaming, Zelda hit mute and called, "come in!"

"Good morning, Princess. Have a nice sleep?" Link sauntered over and plopped down next to Zelda.

"Very, yes," she replied with a smile. "You?"

He'd been visiting her whenever he could. "I slept okay." He looked at the three dancing elves on TV and smiled. "Having your own Christmas party, are you?"

Zelda stretched, remote in hand. "Yup."

Link's melted arctic eyes were twinkling. "Everybody's awake downstairs and waiting for you."

"I can't walk, though," Zelda protested, feeling feeble and stupid. "You know that. Everybody knows that."

"Exactly," stated Link, grabbing a plaid blanket from where it was lying sloppily dumped atop the reclining couch. "That's why they sent me up."

"Oh no… you're not going to…."

"Of course I am," he replied with an innocent little smirk, handing Zelda the plaid blanket. "Here, in case you get cold…."

"Link," she began to whine as he gently pulled her from the covers, "really. This is embarrassing."

"Come on," he scolded, taking her up in his arms, not appearing perturbed at all by her weight. "It's Christmas. You didn't think we were all going to let you spend it in here alone?"

"Well, no…" She replied, throwing the blanket over her legs and looping her arms around his neck, doing her best not to cuddle into the warmth of Link. "But…."

"Come on, don't complain," he told her. "It's not every day you get to be carried by such a fine specimen of the male species as myself… can you get that doorknob?"

"Now you're just being narcissistic," Zelda replied with a laugh, opening the door for Link and allowing him to carry her through. She noted how cautious he was being, treading as though Zelda was made of glass.

"I'm never narcissistic," Link stated airily as he carried Zelda down the wide hall. "Just sarcastic."

"And self absorbed," Zelda countered, poking Link in the side. "And a pig."

"Never," Link replied with a grin. "Only sarcasm upon occasion."

They arrived downstairs and Link walked easily, and Zelda couldn't help but be awed and very slightly a little bit turned on by the sleek muscles in his back rippling under her hands as he carried her effortlessly. Wait. It was Link, for crying out loud. _Not_ the finest boy to go hunting for. Hell, weren't there days when she wondered if he was even straight?

"You're so strong," Zelda couldn't help but say. "It's kind of scary. I never really noticed before."

"Finally you admit that I'm scary!" Link began a little jig and Zelda clamped her arms tighter around Link's neck.

"Scary, yes, but you're about as courageous and fierce as a kitten."

"What can I say? Kittens are very courageous and fierce." They turned the corner and Zelda heard the buzz of conversation, and then smiled as they walked into the living room, in which was settled Audrey and the Tudors, all beaming.

Zelda realized with a slight pang that her father wasn't there. Then she remembered that he never had been anyway.

"Zelda!" cried the little girls gleefully, jumping up and down from their place next to the Christmas tree. Audrey was sitting leaned against the wooden leg of an overstuffed armchair by the fire, the best chair, and Zelda realized with a small flutter of thrill that the chair was for her.

It had always been her _father_'s chair.

"You really didn't have to do this," she protested as Link set her gently down in the chair, arranging a pillow behind her.

"We wanted to, though," Audrey stated with a smile, passing Zelda a small red wrapped square. Presents were passed around and then, as though on cue, everybody began to rip in amongst beautiful chaos.

Zelda's first present was a set of new bass strings from Alexandra, shockingly enough. Then after that came a thick book from Link- "The Myth of Atlantis",

"Audrey told me you'd like it," he explained with a grin. Zelda smiled at him, then opened the book and flipped through, her awe growing at the astounding color drawings, maps, sketches, and all the information.

"Wow." It looked like the old land. Link was beaming.

Zelda ripped into her next few presents, some nice candles from Impa, several new CDs as a joint gift from Haft and the girls, a simple silver key necklace from her cousin Alexandra's mother, and from her father, a massive and expensive gift certificate to Neiman Marcus.

She watched, bemused, as Saria ripped open an alchemy kit from her parents, then turned her eyes on Link as he carefully pulled out a new hoodie.

"Green." He looked it up and down and grinned.

Zelda turned her focus back to the other presents from random extended family members. It would be the same as every year- bizarre trinkets, jewelry, gift certificates. She wasn't disappointed. It was only as she was being helped up to her room by Link, Impa toting her things (Haft was helping the girls with their many gifts) that she realized Audrey hadn't gotten her anything. Feeling a little twinge, she inwardly sighed. Had she done something wrong, displeased her aunt in some way? She didn't know.

"Something wrong? You're quiet," Link commented as Zelda opened the door.

"A little tired," Zelda replied. "I didn't realize that I'm still a bit weak from being sick." And it wasn't entirely a lie.

"Do you want me to stay with you?"

"No, I think I'll rest," Zelda replied. "You should go spend Christmas with your family."

"You're our family too, but if you want to rest... Oh, Zelda, I nearly forgot," piped up Impa as she dropped Zelda's pile of presents on the edge of her bed, ignoring Link as he carefully tucked Zelda between the sheets. "Your father said he'd be home later. He went to the airport."

"The airport?" Zelda delicately raised one blond eyebrow. "Why did he go to the airport?"

Impa shrugged. "He didn't tell me. He told me he wanted to tell you himself. Sorry…" In response, Zelda faked a yawn.

Impa smiled, then, and walked to stand next to her son, by Zelda. "Rest up," she said with slight amusement, tucking a strand of blond hair behind her ear. And then Link: "I'm sorry you're tired." The two began to walk to the door together, mother and son.

"It's okay," she replied amiably.

"We'll come up for you in a bit," Impa called, and the door shut. Zelda leaned back against the pillows, blowing random wisps of hair from her face and staring at the top of her lacy canopy. Her mind wandered to the inevitable.

Sterling was such a pain. One day he was hot, the next he was cold, friendly one day and nearly a stranger the next. Just yesterday morning he'd come in and visited her, but then he'd just left as though he hardly knew her! Zelda sighed to herself, then picked up the book Link had gotten her. She'd be lucky if she figured Sterling out before she was eighty, she thought, and it wouldn't be worth troubling herself over it if it wasn't possible anyway. After all, such a jerk was hardly worthy of her time. Or so she tried to tell herself.

Zelda began to read, absorbing all the information and correlating it to what she already knew about Hyrule. It fit. Everything fit. Just as she was turning to a page of a supposed map of Atlantis, the door to her room opened and Audrey entered, smiling softly at her niece.

"I'm sorry I didn't give you your present downstairs," the brunette said. "I didn't want to raise any questions."

"It's okay," Zelda replied, pushing herself to a sitting position and patting the bed next to her. "Sit. And thank you for going out and buying everything for me, Audrey." Zelda, unable to walk, had sent her aunt out with her shopping list and endless recitations of, "oh, thank you so much Audrey! You're a lifesaver, you really are."

Zelda's brain was jerked back to the present as Audrey plopped down next to her. "Anything for you, Zelda," she replied generously, and set down a small gold-wrapped package in front of her niece, tied on top with a pink bow. The package was maybe five inches wide, ten inches tall, and eight inches deep, and also very light. "Open it."

Zelda complied, pulling the string that tied the pink bow and letting it slide to the sheets. With a grin at her aunt, she savagely ripped off the gold wrapping, then crumpled it into a little ball. She pulled off the white lid of the box, and stared down into it.

Gloves. Pair after pair of brown and black leather gloves were stacked on top of one another.

"Gloves," Zelda repeated, drawing out the top glove, left, and sliding it onto her left hand, pulling at the strap. It was a mixture of brown and black leather and was sewn very carefully, and there were no finger tips to them. They only covered her palms, and the backs of her hands, and just past her knuckles.

"For your triforce," Audrey clarified simply. "You can tell people that you burned your hands over the break and now you have to wear them."

"Audrey…." Zelda turned her hand over in the light, admiring it. The gloves really were beautiful. "Thank you…"

"It's a necessity," the older woman replied with a shrug. "I'm simply getting you started. Some of them are leather, some of them are cloth, all of them are washable. It's not the best of presents, I'm afraid, but when you need more, tell me. I know of a place where I can call in favors and get them for a fairly inexpensive price."

"They're lovely," Zelda replied. "And perfect. Thank you, Audrey."

"You're welcome." Audrey smiled gently as her niece wrapped her arms around the older woman's middle. "And thank you for the Me-Hepburn purse, Zelda. I really liked it."

Audrey was obsessed with her namesake, Audrey Hepburn, and when Zelda had been at the mall in late November with Malon, she'd seen the purse and instantly thought of her aunt. It hadn't come cheap, either, but any expense was small where her aunt was concerned. "You're welcome," Zelda said with a smile.

"Do you feel much better? Do you think you'll be out of bed soon?"

"With any luck," Zelda replied, shrugging one shoulder. "I'm feeling a bit better than I have in several days. I'm betting I'll be fine by New Years'. Can I come down for Christmas dinner in a bit?"

Audrey kissed Zelda on the forehead. "Of course you can. I'm going to go now, though. Your father will be here soon, and he'll want to see you."

"Why'd he go to the airport, anyway?" Zelda asked, tilting her head and scratching her neck.

"I think he'll want to…. Er… show you himself. Ah, look, here he is," Audrey added as a knock resounded at the door.

"Zelda?" It was unmistakably Old Man Harkinian.

"Come in," she said, pulling off the glove and slipping it inside the box, putting the lid on and tossing it into her pile of gifts.

"Ah, Audrey," boomed Harkinian as he entered. "Good to see you."

"You too, Rich," she replied easily. "Don't let me interfere- I was just on my way out."

"Of course." He held the door open, allowing her to step out, and then shut it behind her, walking over to sit by his daughter.

"Hello, Zelda. Having a good Christmas?"

"Yeah, pretty," Zelda replied nonchalantly. "I went down and opened presents with everybody."

"Walked?"

"Was carried," she replied. "I am feeling better than I have in days, though. I think I'll be walking again by New Years'."

"Of course, of course." Harkinian stood up, walked and stopped awkwardly next to the armoire for a moment, then began to pace. "Zelda, I'm afraid there's something important I need to tell you."

"Does it have something to do with going to the airport instead of spending Christmas morning with your only child, who you haven't seen for half a year?" Her cheerful tone offset the tense words.

"Yes. Zelda, do you remember Aroma Dotour? Monsieur Dotour's widow?"

"Yesss…. Monsieur died in a car wreck about a year ago, didn't he?"

"Yes, Zelda. And Aroma and I have been spending quite a bit of time together… Zelda, I'm going to marry her. Shiek's going to be your brother."

"Wh… what? When did this happen?" She hoped she didn't look too pale. All of a sudden, she wasn't feeling so hot either.

"Do you remember that I comforted her quite a bit after her husband died?"

"Yeah… oh… I suppose it was only natural, then…."

"Yes," Richard replied. "I just picked her and her son up from the air port. They'll be staying with us now and, Zelda, quite frankly, you're going to be expected to be up here quite a bit more. Whenever you have a three day weekend, or a break of any sort, you are to come visit home. I let you stay down with the Tudors over Thanksgiving, but that was a one time thing."

"Why didn't they come to the wedding?"

"Aroma needed to attend to matters with her own family."

"You're not going to give her Mom's old room, are you?"

"Of course not," Harkinian said, as though the idea were absurd. "It's as much your room now as it was hers, and it would be an insult to her memory."

"Yes," said Zelda, greatly relieved that she was at least being allowed to keep the memory of her mother. "It would be. Are they here now?"

"They're unpacking. The wedding is set for June, by the way."

"June. Of course." Her voice was very faint.

"You're going to be a bridesmaid."

"Alright."

"Try and be kind to her. She does like you, Zelda, and hopes that you'll look upon her as a mother."

"I will."

"And I trust you'll get along with Shiek, won't you?"

"Absolutely. Dad, I've got nothing wrong with either of them. In fact, I quite like them. I'm just… surprised is all. Very surprised."

"I believe she has a Christmas present for you. I've already apologized on your behalf."

"I'll make it up to her." Zelda's voice was a little faint. Richard smiled, and, surprisingly, kissed the top of Zelda's head.

"I'm sorry I haven't been the best of fathers, Zelda. I hope that you don't hate me for this."

"I don't," she replied. "Wouldn't."

"Aroma and Sheik may come in later to visit. Do be amiable."

"I will."

And then he was gone, leaving Zelda in her bed, shocked.

She blinked once. Twice. She tried to digest the information as best she could. "What the….."

And then she yelled for Link.

.:&:.

Aroma Dotour was not her father's usual cup of tea. Once a model, now weighted with age, she had a head of carefully dyed, carefully styled red hair, a less-than-perfect belly (she refused to go in for liposuction, ever) and always wore a black shawl for her dead husband's memory. Her lips were painted red, her eyelashes curled meticulously, and blush splashed across her cheeks. There was a wart just below the corner of her mouth, and her long fake nails were painted scarlet.

"Oh, my dear!" Aroma swept into the room looking rather like a fat canary, planting a fat kiss on Zelda's cheek even as she engulfed her in a hug. "It's been so long since the last time I saw you, Zelda. Your father told me all about your illness… I do hope you're alright?"

"I'm fine," Zelda managed to choke out. "I'm over it. Just a little weak, though."

"Hey Zel." Shiek sauntered over to stand at the foot of the bed, studying her playfully. "I heard all about you being sick, too. Crazy." He shot her a sparkling grin, and Zelda remembered that she had always quite liked Sheik. He wasn't always vying for attention, and he wasn't spoiled. He was just a boy, a tanned boy with corn-wheat hair and ruby eyes who had a lopsided smile and liked riddles and mythology.

"What was it that you had again? Measles? SARS? I don't quite recall…"

"It was just the flu," Zelda replied, then smiled. "How was your trip, Ms. Dotour?"

"It was fine, and oh, your father was such a gentleman about the whole thing, apologized to us so much for causing such an inconvenience, but the only time we could come down was Christmas day! Oh, my darling, you must call me _Maman_, or perhaps Madame. I couldn't presume to ask you to call me Mom, but surely the French equivalent will do?"

"Of course, _Maman_," Zelda replied. Dotour beamed brightly, then sniffled, wiping a tear from her eye.

"Oh, you always were such a sweet child…" she wrapped her arms around Zelda again, and Sheik laughed.

"Mom, you're crushing her," Sheik piped up from his post at the end of the bed where he was flipping through Zelda's _Atlantis _book.

"Oh dear, I am so very sorry, Zelda, it is just that I am so glad to have you as a daughter. I always did want a daughter…"

"But she got me." Sheik put the book down and grinned wolfishly. "Pity her."

"But isn't it lucky you two are so close together in age?" Dotour gushed. "Why, Sheik just turned seventeen last month. When do you turn, Zelda?"

"May," Zelda replied, smiling. "Happy belated birthday, Sheik."

"I'll leave you two for a bit," Dotour buzzed. "I have simply so much to do! Why, I must check in with all the guests, peek in on the servants, plan the wedding and not to mention Sheik's room… good bye, my darlings."

And in a whirlwind of red hair, yellow dress, and black shawl, Dotour was gone.

"Your mom's a riot," Zelda informed Sheik, then shook her head. "Weird. You're going to be my brother."

"And you're going to be my sister." Sheik stuck out his tongue. "Sorry, no offense Zel, it's just that I've never particularly wanted any siblings."

"I'll only be around on breaks and stuff. You'll hardly have to deal with me."

"Yeah, what's up with that? Did the old man give you the boot or something? Don't worry, I won't spill," Sheik added, plopping down at Zelda's feet.

"Well, in half he did," she said with a shrug. "You know, Dad's weird… what are you going to call him, anyway?"

"He told me I can call him 'Sir' if he likes, but he'll always be 'Old Man Harkie' to me in my heart." Shiek pressed one hand to his heart dramatically, and grinned. "So, how did he half send you away?"

"Well, I was going insane here, totally rampant," Zelda stated, "and Dad didn't know what to do with me, so he asked some family friends of ours if they wouldn't mind taking me as they're much better at raising kids- they've got a boy my age, Link, I think you'll like him- and anyway, they said they'd be delighted to let me stay with them for a year or two so that I could get a "real" high school and teenaged experience, so off I was shipped."

"Are these people awful or something?" Sheik asked, scratching his short messy hair.

"Actually, they're really cool. I'm having a great time staying with them. I've joined a garage band and school isn't as awful as I thought it would be. What about you?"

"Not really doing much with my pathetic little scrap of life," Sheik responded. "I've taken up _Aikido_, actually, and I've started writing a bit. Nothing else to speak of, other than stupid home schooling, which I hate. Hey!" He snapped, his scarlet eyes alight. "Do you suppose I could go with you, once Mom and the old man are married and see what "real" high school is like?"

"I don't see why not," she replied. "It's not like they couldn't accommodate you. They're paid extra, actually, for handling me, and all my necessary expenses like clothes and stuff come from an account dear old Dad set aside from me, which I'm sure you could draw off of."

"How much is in it?"

"Just above three million, at the moment."

Sheik whistled low. "Wow. Bet that's just a drop in the bucket, too."

"For Dad? Yeah. I don't know why he thought I'd _ever_ need three million dollars… go figure."

"What do you think of this crazy wedding business?"

"Honestly, I think both our parents are insane," Zelda replied, flicking a strand of hair over her shoulder. Just then, Sheik caught sight of the back of her left hand.

"Wicked," he stated. "Did that just show up? 'Cause I got one too, fell skateboarding a week or two ago and it showed up as a bruise, but hasn't gone away yet. People keep asking me why I've got a tattoo, and I tell them it's no tattoo, it's a bruise." Sheik laughed. "Kinda strange. Definitely strange. Never heard of it happening before."

"It just showed up, you say?" Zelda asked, eyeing the back of Shiek's left hand. "A week ago?"

"Coulda' been two." He shrugged, and held out his left hand. "See for yourself."

They compared the backs of their hands, and Zelda felt an odd chill. The triforce on the back of his hand was the exact replica of hers, down to the darker third triangle. "You know what it is?"

"I may, or at least, I thought I did," Zelda replied, staring between their hands. "We might want to get my aunt Audrey, though. She knows about this stuff. Have you told anybody about how it just showed up?"

"Nah," Sheik replied. "I'm not that stupid. It obviously means something. I just don't' know what." He shrugged. "You know, maybe it's a sign from the gods or something."

"You think it's possible?"

"Hell, I don't see why not. Can't take everything with a grain of salt, and some things just can't be explained. Like random triangles showing up on the back of your hand. You want me to go get Audrey?"

"Please do," Zelda said faintly.

"Alright. I'll be back in a few minutes…. Sis." He grinned and sauntered out the door.

Zelda sat back against the pillows and looked at the back of her hand. _What the Din_…..

.:&:.

"Well. As far as I can say, this has never occurred to my feeble knowledge, it shouldn't have occurred, and I can fathom a guess as to what has happened but I'd prefer not to."

Zelda looked at Shiek, who was watching Audrey with lazy bemusement.

"So I've got magic powers and stuff now. Cool."

"In theory, you do. In actuality, you don't. You haven't been taught by a mage of any sort, and only very rare people can pick up magic of their own accord, and even then, they can only perform the simplest of magics."

"Isn't there someone I could take lessons from? I think it'd be cool to make things spontaneously combust."

"Sheik, I'm very glad that you're being accepting of this, but we need to figure out what needs to be done about this now." Audrey turned her frustrated gaze on Zelda. "Any words?"

"Well…" she thought carefully, feeling the back of her left hand tingling as she drew on the power that lay there. "It could be, perhaps, that the other river is coming to slowly collide from the first, and Sheik is from it."

"And it's Sheik instead of a second Zelda?"

"Right," Zelda gave a nod, "because there can't be two of me. And didn't the princess have a disguise for when she walked around and appeared to people? Wasn't it almost like she became another person entirely? Perhaps this, then, is that echo."

"I may very well be an echo," Shiek stated suddenly from the end of the bed where he was idly flipping through the journal, "but that doesn't mean I'm not real."

"Of course not," Audrey agreed. "When you shout something and it echoes, the echo is every bit as real as the words that poured from your throat. You may not be the original, but Zelda isn't the original either. Echoes are distorted, both in the metaphorical and literal senses, but despite the distortions, they're still very real." Audrey sighed, looking between her niece and her nephew-to-be. "This is just, plainly put, a mess." She turned her eyes on the two teens. "This is bad, and I hope that you two know you're going to have to stick together. We have to be ready for anything."

"Anything?" Sheik echoed, scratching his hair.

Audrey nodded. "Anything."

.:&:.

New Years' Eve. Zelda sat alone in her room by her own choice, a spiral notebook in front of her as she jotted down all the things that she wanted to be- needed to be. Stronger. Smarter. Faster. And in every sense of the word- though the holiday was merry, Zelda, for one, chose not to participate, as she knew that something was coming. Something big was coming.

Inwardly, she laughed at herself. She sounded paranoid. She should be locked away. But the fact of the matter was that, though everybody's eyes were closed to the truth, she knew. It was her and Audrey, and possibly Sheik, and maybe someday, if her suspicions were right, Link. But until then…

Zelda completed the list and folded it away, tucking it safely into the box that contained the locket, the ocarina, and the journal. And then, looking out at the bonfire in the yard below (she could walk by now, but had chosen to stay alone that eve), she lifted up her flute of champagne as the clock struck midnight and drank deeply, insulting the fine liquor's quality. As she emptied the flute, she thought of her resolutions, and promised herself that she would be all that she could be. She would be strong. She would be unstoppable.

_Goddesses help me_, she thought, finishing the champagne. And then she kissed the night, and went back inside.

The New Year had come.

**_END BOOK I_**

**.:&:.**

**Uploaded:**

**Sunday, March 20, 2005**

**10:17 AM**

**A/N:** I am sooooooo sorry that I didn't upload this last night! In short, my day completely blew yesterday, but I think the worst part was when my little sister poured tomato sauce all over my head (note, she's almost FIFTEEN) and then I got kicked out of the house for no reason. Thank god I was rescued by a friend and therefore spent most of the night lying on their bed and watching blue collar TV and feeling much better. WHEN I got home way past my bedtime, I walked into my room and my stuff had been thrown everywhere, and I couldn't write. I couldn't even turn on my computer. So I cleaned and by the time I was done, I was feeling a bit better, a bit, but I was too upset to edit so I just went straight to bed.

WHEW that was a mouthful. Anyway, this is the end of book 1 and everybody has met my favorite character now, Sheik. Sheik is such a riot, I heart him much much. Book 2 will be making a public appearance probably in 2 weeks, on a Sunday as well as I will not have any time at all to write or work or edit or anything, as I will be at the theater five hours a night every night through Easter break to Saturday, April 2 . Just a wee bit depressing. So that's why you no get no writing for two weeks, le GASP, but I swear on Zelda's vintage '57 precision bass that you WILL have an update on Sunday the 3rd.

Drop me a review, and hey, if you're bored enough, AIM me. I like talking to people. I want to talk to _you_.

/weird

Until next time,

_Lyxie_


	23. The Phantom's Lair

**_Book II_**

**__**

**__**

**Twenty-three: The Phantom's Lair**

"Why," Zelda asked, tossing the bouquet roughly down on Malon's kitchen table, "roses? Why?"

"What bouquet does this make, Zelda?"

"The seventh, at least," replied the blonde in frustration as she sat down. "And they didn't have the decency to send white roses, for purity and friendship. Oh no. I got a bouquet of orange roses. _Orange_! Do you know what orange roses even mean?"

"I want to get closer to you- metaphorically, not literally," droned Malon as she fetched her friend a vase of water for her pretty flowers. "Come on, Zelda, cut the male species some slack. They just want to get to know you better. After all, you're hot, you're talented, you're fun…"

"And I'm rich," Zelda added glumly. "And blond."

"And in the school's top rock band," Malon reminded her gently. "Come on, Zelda. You're being too pessimistic. You know, ever since you came back from your dad's, you've been really cynical. I thought you were over the whole 'Sterling' episode. You are, aren't you?"

"Yeah." Zelda recalled the day she'd left, how Sterling had tried to kiss her goodbye- in private, of course.

She also recalled how good it felt to slap him across the face.

_"Ouch! Zelda, I just want you to like me. I just want to be your friend. Please."_

_"And what sort of friend tries to kiss another one day, and then ignores them the next! You've been toying with me," she'd told him furiously. "You're not worthy of my attention, despite how perfect you appear to be. Please, don't try and see me again." And she'd gathered up the last of her things and left._

"What a jerk. I still can't believe it." Malon shook her head, red tresses waving around her. "And to think, he sounded so nice on the phone, too…"

"Can we shut up about Sterling?" Zelda snapped, glaring at the roses.

It was Valentines' week, and though it had been nearly a month and a half since that painful Christmas episode, Zelda's heart was still smarting. Stupid, stupid, stupid, she'd yell inwardly at herself in the middle of the night as she laid alone in her room in the darkness. You're so stupid.

"Fine, fine," Malon replied with a sigh, then sat down at the table across from Zelda, pushing the vase of orange roses out of her line of vision. "Girl, you need to chill. Seriously. Breathe in, breathe out. Life giving you a rough time?"

"A little." Zelda drummed her fingers on the table, admiring the way her black and brown leather gloves caught the light. She'd been asked many times what they were for- each time, she replied simply that she'd burned her hands over the break and they were covering up the awful scar tissue. She was glad for the gloves, too- the mark on the back of her hand had finally finished "maturing" and now looked almost like a henna tattoo. There were the three triangles, of course, and the one on the bottom left was shaded in with the royal crest. Bizarre.

Sensing Zelda didn't want to talk about, Malon changed subjects. "So, Zelda, are you going to accept any proposals from your many admirers?" She toyed with one orange rose head, and Zelda sighed.

"No," she replied, exhausted. "I'm just not up for a relationship right now. School's too complicated. The band's too complicated. And Link, of course."

"I thought you said he was like a brother to you." Malon eyed her friend up and down suspiciously.

"Well, he is! I mean, he was! It was just, the other day, he… I don't know, it's just that Link is Link and the last time I even tried to give my heart away, it hurt us both. So, like, why bother? I've got allegiances to him, I've got allegiances to the band, and I've really got to pull my act together in school if I want to get into a good college."

"Zelda," Malon's tone was incredulous, "you've never gotten anything less than an 80 all year."

"That's not enough, though," Zelda replied, frustrated. "Nothing's enough. Nothing's ever enough."

"I have the feeling this isn't about school," Malon stated, watching Zelda as she pushed her chair back and began to pace, running her gloved hands over the top of her head in stress- Malon imagined that her fingers would be scraping through her hair if it wasn't pulled back.

"It's just about life in general, Mal. I have too much to worry about to feed the groin-controlled affections of the delinquents at our school."

Malon nodded. "I suppose that's understandable." She sighed, rolling her head around on her neck, then stood. "Come on, let's get you home."

"Yeah."

Malon had wanted to stop off at her house "real quick" to drop off her things and put Zelda's roses in water, as the Tudor household had been run dry of vases- not surprising, since Impa and Haft didn't seem to know what they were in the first place. Just as Zelda and Malon were collecting themselves, Cremia sauntered in.

Cremia was Malon's sister- Malon's younger sister by a year. She was a bit taller than Malon and strikingly pretty, and, delightfully, she hated Ruto.

"Hey Malon, Dad wants you to cook dinner tonight," Cremia stated, shaking a few wisps of hair from her eyes. "Oh, hey Zelda. Those roses yours?"

"Yeah. You can have them if you want, though."

"No thanks," Cremia replied, eyes looking dreamy from behind their red-plastic rimmed glasses. "I've already got some."

Malon's eyebrow shot up a mile. "From who?"

"I don't know." Cremia sighed, then smiled. "It's so nice to have a secret admirer."

Zelda swore, if Malon's eyebrow went any higher it would get totally lost in her hairline.

"Secret admirer? You? Cremia, I'm shocked."

Zelda had to admit to herself that it was slightly surprising that quiet little Cremia would ever get a secret admirer. Her sloppy, floppy bun usually had a large number of mechanical pencils and cheap pens shoved through its thick length, hair always hung in her face, and her standard uniform was shirts two sizes too big and cargo pants, usually green or black, and a large black duster that looked more like a bathrobe than anything else. Her pale skin, however, was flawless and seemed to glow, and the lack of makeup made her face all the more pretty. Perhaps it wasn't so surprising after all that someone had seen this beauty.

"Is Volvagia practicing this afternoon?" Cremia blew in irritation at a beautiful glossy deep auburn strand, and Zelda couldn't help but grin.

"Yeah," the blond replied. "In about an hour. Why?"

"Would you mind if I came?"

"Honestly." Malon snorted, then grinned, patting her sister on the shoulder. "Zelda, you wouldn't believe how much she's been bothering me about bringing her along to a practice."

"You can come," Zelda replied easily. "But don't invite any of your friends along. Really, it's nothing special. Just… practicing. Fixing bad notes, changing stuff, occasionally arguing and/or throwing things. Really, I think you'll be bored."

"I have nothing better to do with my life," the dreamer responded airily. "I already did all my schoolwork and read every book in the house."

"Three times forwards and backwards, it might be added," Malon added with a cringe, then smiled affectionately at her little sister. "Zelda, you don't mind if she comes along, really, right?"

"Of course I don't mind." And then, directed to Cremia, "I'm just hoping you don't get bored."

"I won't," Cremia assured her. "And maybe I can help you. I have a good ear for music."

Zelda allowed herself to smile. "Perhaps." She looked at the vile orange roses in their vase, and suddenly, everything seemed very funny. "Malon, let's get my roses home now, okay? I'm sure they're lonely and need more rose friends with them." This earned her a snicker from her friend.

"Alright, captain, will do. Shall I pick you up before practice?"

"Would you mind terribly?" Zelda had the good grace to at least attempt at looking abashed. "I don't want to be a burden…"

"Zelda, you're anything but," Malon stated with a sigh. "Right, Cremia?"

"Hmm?" She was gazing dreamily out the window at the back yard. "Right."

"See, even Cremia says you're not a burden." Malon grinned wickedly, then picked up the vase of flowers. "Come on, let's go now. You need to get ready for band practice."

"Yeah, if by ready, you mean I need to lie on my bed trying not to think about homework for an hour? Because I just really need to do that."

Malon shoved the vase into Zelda's hands and then laughed, dragging her out of the house by the elbow. "Let's go."

And off they were to the Tudor house, which was, astoundingly, only a good five minutes away- but only when Malon was driving. Zelda found herself dropped off and walked inside the house, carrying the roses, and then stumbled up to her room and set the vase down on top of her window seat (with cushion removed) as it was one of the only remaining available surfaces. Zelda sighed and turned, taking in the rest of the flowers crammed into her not-so-tiny room. If the constant stream of flowers kept up, she'd have to start moving some into the bathroom.

Sigh. What did they want from her, anyway? There wasn't anything even remotely boy-worthy about her- Sterling had proven her that. Zelda sighed in frustration, resisting the urge to break something.

Sterling.

It had been a month and a half. She should be over it by now, she really should be.

So why wasn't she?

Of course, only Malon and Lulu knew how angry and upset and raw she still was from his cruelty- Zelda didn't dare tell Link, for fear of what he may do. But still, even though it hadn't even been a breakup at all, Zelda wished that the male species would just leave her alone to her single misery.

_Stupid men_, she thought. _Stupid you, Zelda.__ Stupid you._

She packed up her bass and plopped down on her bed, eagle-spread and staring at the ceiling.

_Love doesn't exist. It can't exist. If there was such a thing as love, I wouldn't have these stupid triangles carved into my flesh. No. There's no such thing as love._

-&-

_I thought I saw a man brought to life  
He was warm, he came around like he was dignified  
He showed me what it was to cry_

_  
Well you couldn't be that man I adored  
You don't seem to know, don't seem to care what your heart is for  
But I don't know him anymore_

_  
There's nothing where he used to lie  
My conversation has run dry  
That's what's going on, nothing's fine I'm torn_

I'm all out of faith, this is how I feel  
I'm cold and I am shamed lying naked on the floor  
Illusion never changed into something real  
I'm wide awake and I can see the perfect sky is torn

_  
You're a little late, I'm already torn… _

They'd covered the good old depressing 90's song, something each of the members of Volvagia recalled as a potent story of their childhoods; it had been Zelda's idea to cover it. Thus, she sang, in her soft, almost-croaky voice, sounding broken, which, in her state of frosty healing, wasn't difficult and seemed to be having the desired effect on her spectators, who were cheering and dancing and jumping up and down and generally having a blast- but during this song, they were dead quiet and attentive.

The crowd was no longer comprised entirely of high-school students, Zelda knew. Even some of the local college students were beginning to attend the Volvagia concerts held every Saturday night at _The Phantom's Lair_, a club that had been on the verge of closing. Had been, that was, until _Volvagia_ struck up a deal with them.

_"So I guess the fortune teller's right  
Should have seen just what was there and not some holy light  
To crawl beneath my veins and now  
I don't care, I have no luck, I don't miss it all that much  
There's just so many things that I can't touch, I'm torn"_

The words had a heavy significance to Zelda and her slowly freezing heart. She was, to an extent, luckless. And why hadn't she looked at what was really there? It made her head hurt just speculating.

_"I'm all out of faith, this is how I feel  
I'm cold and I am shamed lying naked on the floor  
Illusion never changed into something real  
I'm wide awake and I can see the perfect sky is torn  
You're a little late, I'm already torn._

_Torn..._

There's nothing where he used to lie  
My inspiration has run dry  
That's what's going on, nothing's right, I'm torn

I'm all out of faith, this is how I feel  
I'm cold and I am shamed lying naked on the floor  
Illusion never changed into something real  
I'm wide awake and I can see the perfect sky is torn  
I'm all out of faith, this is how I feel  
I'm cold and I'm ashamed bound and broken on the floor  
You're a little late, I'm already torn"

The song ended and Zelda stepped back from her microphone, a depressed but arrogant little half-smile twisting her features as Mikau turned and grinned at her. The crowd cheered, people jumping up and down and making the mass look like boiling water, rolling and tumultuous.

"Let's have another round of applause for _Zel_-da," he said, stepping up to the mike and beckoning at her with his left hand- his right was clutching the neck to his guitar. The club roared once more and Zelda grinned. To her right, Darmani played a quick little riff on the drums.

"That was Torn, originally by Natalie Imbruglia… Zelda's idea to cover it, actually. Next we're going to play one of our original songs… it's called 'Obligational Catastrophe'…."

Zelda allowed Mikau to start off strumming gently, and she came in softly, not really listening as he crooned depressing words into the microphone, about pain and breakup and broken hearts, running on autopilot, even though she shouldn't. But she wouldn't screw up- she'd written the song, after all. She seemed to write most of Volvagia's music.

Not that there was anything wrong with that.

The leather and cloth of her gloves was slightly irritating, due to sweat buildup on her hands. The lights of the stage were hot and the club didn't have the best ventilation unit. Oh well. It was worth it, especially with the added money that the band was making. The song was over suddenly and another faster one was in its place and Zelda was performing, smiling into the crowd as she did so. And another song took its place and another- the night was a happy haze of rock music, as it always was.

The concert ended and people streamed up to the stage to talk to the exhausted band- both Mikau and Zelda's voices were hoarse from singing as they dismantled things (with the help of a crew) and packed up. Zelda smiled down at the people, wiping her bare arm against her sweaty forehead and hitching up her black spaghetti strap tank. She spotted a face in the crowd close to the stage that she recognized, and stepped forward, squatting, hands on her faded jean-clad knees.

"Marie, do you know what the chemistry homework was?" she asked, not caring that it was a perfectly ridiculous question to make after such a concert- she was a normal teenager and had to worry about homework….

"That worksheet over limiting reactants," Marie clarified with a smile, sleek red hair swinging around her as she leaned on tiptoe against the stage, which began at her shoulders. "Awesome concert, Zelda."

"Thanks," Zelda replied, hot and hoarse but feeling good.

"When's you guys' CD coming out?"

"Probably sometime next month," Zelda responded, smiling wearily at someone who called her name, over on the other side of the stage. The bright lights were inhibiting her view of whoever it was, but she did catch a hand waving in the air. "I'll see you in class on Tuesday, okay Marie?"

"Alrighty Zelda. Hey, Mikau!"

Zelda walked across the stage to squat in front of the person who had called her name, a girl she didn't recognize, who, by the looks of it, was a freshman. There was a timid-looking boy standing next to her as well- it seemed the girl had hauled him over.

"Yeah?" Zelda squatted again, gloved hands resting in fists as she looked down at the 'cute little fishies', as Malon would surely call them.

"My name's Navi. I'm a freshman. This here's Tael- he's just moved here and doesn't know many people. And I heard that you moved here and didn't know anybody either at the beginning of the year, and I was thinking, well, since he's in the same boat you were in, maybe you could help him out!" Navi looked quite proud of herself for this, and Zelda smiled at the short girl, whose hair was so light blond that it was nearly white, and her skin so pale it seemed to glow.

"Would you be okay with that, Tael?" Zelda asked the 'cute little fishy', inwardly wincing at the roughness of her hoarse voice. Wide-eyed, he nodded. "Then I suppose I wouldn't mind. Where'd you move in at?"

"B…. Blackwing Creek…."

Zelda nodded. "You're not too far from me then. You with your parents?"

Tael looked shaky. "Yeah. And my little sister. Tatl…" Tael smiled a little, and then looked back up at Zelda. "She's in second grade."

"Yeah?" she asked, and then turned, looking over her shoulder at Mikau and Darmani, who were trying to dismantle Darmani's drums. "Well cool. I always wished I had a sibling." Zelda spotted Malon over by the steps leading up to the stage and beckoned her friend over. "I'm going to go help those two buffoons," she jerked a thumb over her shoulder in the direction of Mikau and Darmani, "before they break something, but you tell Malon your phone number and I'll give you a call, try and get you out and about and meeting people. Would you like that?"

"If it's not too much trouble."

Malon was right. Wide-eyed freshmen really _were_ cute.

"No problem," Zelda replied with a grin, patting Tael's messy hair, such a deep shade of red that it looked nearly purple under the harsh, wild lights of the club. Malon clicked over then and smiled at Zelda.

"Yo?"

Zelda grinned at Tael and Navi, and then looked up at Malon.

"I'm going to go help the boys. Could you get Tael's phone number for me please? New kid, doing for him what you did for me."

Malon raised an eyebrow, but saved her questions for later. "Gotcha." She squatted and drew a pen out of her clutch, and Zelda wandered over to the boys.

"Need any help, gents?"

"Could you get the case?" Darmani grunted, jerking his head in the direction of the large round black plastic case offstage that Zelda was sure she could fit in, assuming she curled up into a fetal position.

"Sure." She wandered to it and pulled it off of the "backstage" area and over to Darmani and Mikau, who, panting slightly, heaved it in.

"Thanks, Zelda. We're fine now," Mikau said, grinning.

They continued to pack up the drums and so Zelda, never one to be idle, packed up her bass and began to get all of Volvagia's various amp cables and cords, bundling them up and slipping them into the front pocket of her fat gig bag. Then she packed up Mikau's guitar, and by then, the boys were ready to go, having managed to load the set into the back of Darmani's truck, which was out behind the club. It was late anyway, nearly midnight, and Zelda was tired from singing and breaking down the set. Trying not to yawn, she looked out over the crowd, who had all but scattered as the concert ended- they, too, had curfews, except for the college students- and then walked outside into the crisp late winter night air. Tael and Navi, though only fifteen minutes before, were forgotten to Zelda as she hopped into the back seat of Malon's hummer- Lulu had wagered shotgun for the next 24 hours against Zelda on a game of poker that lunch and Zelda had lost- and allowed the pretty redhead to drive her home, yawning into the silence as Lulu hummed idly along with the soft pop pouring fuzzily out of the radio. Street lights cast strange shadows on the interior of the hummer, and the weariness of the night truly began to set into Zelda's bones as they drove on for what seemed like forever. A sluggish twenty minutes later, Zelda found herself bidding her friends goodbye and wandering into the house, smiling tiredly at Impa, who was waiting up for her in the hall.

"How was it?" asked the older woman, who was clad in a white nightdress and soft blue bath robe.

"It was a good set," Zelda replied with a yawn. "A lot of people showed up."

She smiled. "Good. Why don't you go upstairs and wash your face and go to sleep. You look tired. Would you like me to make you some tea before you go?"

"That's okay. Thanks, though." Zelda smiled, touched by the thought, and began to walk up the stairs. "Goodnight, Impa."

"Goodnight, dear. Do you want me to wake you up in the morning?"

"No, it's fine," Zelda replied. "I'll be up. Goodnight."

She finished scaling the staircase and wandered into her room, setting her bass down by her stereo and stripping off her jeans, deciding to sleep in her tank and panties that night. She stumbled into the bathroom, brushed her teeth and washed the last of the makeup off of her face. Then, hardly awake anymore, she drifted back into her bedroom and collapsed onto her mattress, barely asleep before her head hit the pillows.

&-

They were in Link's bedroom, on his bed, doors locked, sitting very, very close. A little too close to Zelda's comfort. Kind of.

"Remind me what I'm doing again?"

"You know exactly what you're doing. Now come on, take it off."

"No."

"Zelda… you promised."

"Yes, I promised, but I said when I was ready. I'm not ready for this, Link."

"Of course you are. Now take it off, or do I have to take it off you myself?"

"Fine, fine…."

The rustle of fabric ensued.

"Well, Link?"

"…" Link gave a sigh.

"I told you. I knew you'd be disgusted… why did I even let you talk me into this in the first place?"

"No, no, Zelda, it's not that it all! There's nothing to be disgusted at. Trust me- it's fine. I just am not sure how to react."

"What do you mean? I thought there's only one way that you could react to something like this…"

"I want a closer look."

"Link, don't touch!"

"Why not?"

"….I'm tender."

"Why would you be tender?"

"I don't know, every once in a while it just kinda happens…."

"I see."

"…you're not mad at me, are you?"

"What? No, no, not at all, I'm just… looking…"

"But Link, you can't talk about this, okay? Not to anyone at all."

"I wouldn't in the first place, even if you hadn't made me promise about fifty times before agreeing. Wow, Zelda…. Amazing…."

"I don't think so…"

"But, I mean, just look. They're so perfectly shaped."

"Of course they are. It would be kind of sick if they were lopsided."

"When did this happen, anyway?"

"Link, you know as well as I that it's been quite a while since _this_ happened."

"Yeah, but… why?"

"It's just something that happens to the females in my family. Let's leave it at that."

Link whistled. "Jesus."

"Have you had your share of gawking?"

"No, not quite yet… hey, what's this thing down here?"

"Uhhhhh…"

"It looks like an insignia of sorts…"

Link carefully lifted Zelda's hand and tilted it side to side in the light of his bedroom window. Zelda braced herself, putting her free right hand down on the soft green and blue plaid comforter. She sighed as Link wrapped his fingers around hers.

"Well, whatever it is that's caused this, I'm sorry…"

"What for?"

"It made you so sick over the break. I was really worried."

"You didn't need to be. I was fine."

"You wouldn't have thought that if you'd been in my place and I'd been in yours…"

"Oh, Link…" Zelda tiredly leaned over and rested her head against his shoulder, her left hand carrying across to her own right shoulder as Link slipped his arm around her. "I'm so tired."

"Did you not sleep well?"

"No, no, I slept fine. I mean psychologically exhausted."

"What's got you tired?" He stroked her hair with his free hand."

"Oh, goddesses… everything, Link. School, the band, my hand…."

His shoulder shook underneath her forehead. "You made a rhyme."

"Dick." She smacked him with her right hand and then sighed again, leaning closer in to him. "And Valentine's day. That's got me a bit stressed, too."

"It's tomorrow," Link stated unnecessarily.

"Yeah," she affirmed. "On a school day. Why on a Monday? Why couldn't it be on Sunday? Today? Then I could hide from the rabid dogs…."

"Speaking of rabid dogs, your concert was awesome last night."

"Thank you, Link."

"You're welcome, Zelda. And if it makes you feel any better, I can walk around with you all day playing bodyguard."

"You mean playing pimp."

"Er… no… bodyguard."

"Link, I know how your twisted mind works. You're going to think of it as pimping."

"I would never. Well… not with you, anyway."

Zelda's tone was wry. "I'm flattered."

"You should be."

They sat in comfortable silence for a time, and then Link grinned, releasing Zelda's hand and sitting back from her.

"Goddesses save me," she murmured at the carnal expression on his face.

"Let's do something _really_ fun," he stated, and then dove on her.

"Oh, Link! Stop it… jerk… let go….."

"Never! Submit to my evil pimping power, yo yo homie in the dizzle or whatever."

"Ahahahaha… Link…. Sadistic…. OUCH watch the hand…. Hahahaha… stop!"

"Not until you succumb!"

"Hahahahahhahhaa, hahahaha…. LINK, STOP TICKLING ME!"

&-

**Uploaded ****2:39 PM**

**Sunday, April 03, 2005**

**A/N: **Welcome back to the world of my demented Zelda brain. Did you enjoy this chapter? Slightly disjointed, but that's the way things'll be for a bit whilst I try and regain my sleep. The show went great, details can be found on my journal. Thank you to each and every last one of you for your support. Update speed, I am sad to say, may be lacking slightly, especially as I've got a wee bit of writers' block, am entering into the last marking period in school, have two more orchestra concerts before May, probably will be returning to dance practice relatively soon, and, lastly, will be getting a job soon, hopefully. Thank you to everybody for reading and for your patience- it means to much to me! Sorry for my rambles. Any comments or complaints, criticism or praise or whatever, feel free to comment or email me. I'd love to hear from you!

See you next week!


	24. Valentiney StPatrick Popcorn Bowl

**Twenty Four: Valentine-y St. Patrick Popcorn Bowl**

Much to Zelda's dismay, 'new kid' had been busy on Sunday, leaving the young rocker to her own devices. So she'd sat around all day in a fort of pillows that she'd constructed in the entertainment room, watching BBC's _Pride and Prejudice_ (Impa had all the DVDs), and left the Tudor family with instructions that any suitors who came around were to be told that she was out for the day.

She was tired, so she went to bed early that night. Her day had been solitary; the family had gone out to dinner, but Zelda had declined their offers of coming along, not feeling like eating. Her mind was on the next day, Monday, and whatever trials and tribulations it might hold.

Valentines' day had never been Zelda's favorite holiday. In fact, she could easily say that Valentines' Day was one of her least favorite days of the year.

On Monday morning, Zelda hauled herself from her soft white sheets, glaring around her room at the many vases of joyful flowers that smiled cheerfully back at her, illuminated by the light coming in the long window at the far end of the room. There was the smell of pancakes wafting seductively through the air, though, and so Zelda got dressed quickly (but only after she made completely sure that her clothes hadn't even the slightest speck of pink), gathered her school things into her arms, and tumbled down the curved stairway in her white cotton Garfield ankle socks.

"Good morning, Zelda," Impa called cheerily as Zelda slid front-first into a wall, her excess momentum having carried her across the smooth wooden floor with painful speed. A thousand curses upon socks and their lack of friction!

"Ow," Zelda grumbled, unplastering herself from the wall dropping her books by her bag. "Good morning. Those pancakes smell really good."

"I know you don't like Valentines' Day much," Impa stated as Zelda wandered down the hallway into the kitchen, "so I figured I'd make you something special. And Mondays are hard for Link, so both of you get a treat for getting out of bed."

"Yum. Do you need me to do anything?"

"If you don't mind too much, could you go check on Link and be sure that he managed to roll out of bed? Your pancakes will be ready when you come down. Two, right?"

Zelda nodded. "Two." She set off down the hallway, sliding past the entertainment room and pulling an abrupt U-turn, skidding in a slippery half circle and nearly tripping over the first step as she began to climb up the stairwell. Her hand trailed up the banister, for balance more than anything else- her socks had no friction against the sleek wood, as she had previously discovered that morning. However, she managed to reach the top of the staircase in one piece and, proud of herself, Zelda stepped onto the lush carpet that ran down the hall that her and Link's rooms were in. Across the staircase from her was the room that Saria and Jayda shared, and the Master bedroom.

"Yo, Link, you up?" She knocked on his door twice, and heard a sleepy groan from within. "Can I come in?"

"I hate Mondays," was his way of reply, and Zelda twisted the doorknob, only to have it swing in at the last possible moment and Link tumble out onto her. "Oooof. Hi, Zelda." He yawned, blinking blearily, and managed a grin. "How is it?"

"It's squished," Zelda grunted in reply. "Get off me. Your mom made her famous pancakes for breakfast."

"Did she really?" Link looked thrilled as he haphazardly struggled off his closest friend, and then held out his left hand to help her up. Hardly thinking, Zelda grabbed his offered left hand with her own, and he began to heave her up.

BZZZZZZZZZZT!

Both teens tumbled back to the floor to land in a heap of bodies, accompanied by two extremely loud thunks.

Link howled lightly, rubbing the back of his left hand. Zelda twitched her fingers, trying to eliminate the tingling there. "What was that?" Link made a funny face as he spoke and it took all of Zelda's willpower not to laugh at him.

"You shocked me," she replied, still twitching her fingers. "Or I shocked you."

"That was one helluva shock," Link stated, doing his best to disentangle his limbs from hers.

"Are you two alright up there?" Impa called.

"Fine mom," and "fine!" the two called down, and Zelda looked at her hand, making a fist and blessing the goddesses that she hadn't forgotten to put her gloves on that morning, as the back of her hand was feeling suspiciously swollen. Zelda was the first to stand, and watched in amusement as Link clambered unstably to his feet a moment later. She paused and took him in, and then cracked up.

"You've got a sick humor, boy," she stated, looking him up and down.

"Huh?"

He wore a pair of baggy khaki cargo pants and a bright green shirt- KISS ME, I'M IRISH!

"It's Valentine's Day," Zelda clarified. "Not St. Patrick's."

"So?"

"Wrong holiday, dear."

"No it's not. It says kiss me and that's Valentine-y, right?"

Zelda sighed, shaking her head.

"Link, I don't like you very much."

He grinned cheekily, bowing. "Love you too, princess."

"Smartass."

"I make an attempt."

Together, the two teenagers trooped down the stairs, one yawning, the other shaking her head at the one whose mouth appeared to be unable to close.

They wandered into the kitchen (Zelda didn't crash into a wall this time around)and took their pancakes, all the while profusely thanking Impa for whipping up such a delectable breakfast, and then plopped down as at their usual seats at the rectangular table, right next to one another, and began to shove with all their might.

"I see that they're good, then?" Impa's tone was amused, and Zelda looked up from her steadily-emptying plate to give Impa a gauntleted thumbs-up and a whipped creamy, masticated strawberry-y, too-much-maple-syrup and Impa-waffles grin. Link was too lazy to look, though, so fixated was his attention on his plate, and in reply to Impa's statement he nodded, his head wagging around like a bipolar dog as he fit as much of the delicious food in his mouth at one time as he possibly could. "As much as I'm flattered, you two need to slow down. You might choke, and then I'll never be able to make these pancakes again!"

Immediately, Zelda and Link's bites became very slow and deliberate. Impa burst out laughing, and then shook her head at both of them.

"Kids." And she walked out of the room, still chuckling to herself, apparently on a mission to go try and get her husband out of bed. Again.

When the teens finally finished, cleaned the sticky syrup-y mess off of their hands and faces, bid Impa and a very sleepy Haft goodbye and left, they were running a little late, and so Zelda got to try to 'get in shape', as Link meant it.

Which of course meant jogging to the train station.

"Link, I don't like to run," she whined as she tried to match his pace to his. "I don't run. I can't run. We'll be just fine, and besides, I look stupid. Do we have to jog?"

"Zelda, nobody's around to see you looking stupid," Link countered. "Everybody's either at work or at school."

"I don't want to go to school," she stated sulkily, panting a little as she cursed Link and his capability for effortless brisk trot. "I wish your mom hadn't told me I have to go to school…"

"What was the 'or else'?" Link asked as they rounded a corner.

"Or else she'd tell my dad all about my Valentines' disaster," she grumbled. "Your mom is harsh sometimes."

Link shrugged. "She does everything for a reason. We may not be able to see it right now, but said reason is usually damn good."

"Mmmhm…" Pant. Pant.

"Jeez, Zelda, you need to get into better shape."

"I know," she replied. "I'm working on it. But being in good shape doesn't entail running."

_It entails having deku nuts to chunk at someone so that they're blinded, and once they're blinded you slip away._

"Yeah, but you might as well be a good runner anyway. You never know, you might need it to run away from all those overeager boys."

"Hmm? Yeah…."

She was unable to talk much more as her breathing became so heavy. Luckily, though, the train station was just around the corner and the train still hadn't pulled up. They slid their train cards through the machine and stepped underneath the overhang, and then, still breathing heavily, Zelda plopped down on a wood-and-concrete bench, glaring at Link.

"Why'd we have to run?"

Her question was answered as the train pulled up. Zelda glared mightily at Link as he smirked, and then allowed him to heave her from her seat, and together they stepped on.

"Jerk."

"I try, Princess. I try."

&-

Zelda was totally absorbed in her math book, taking refuge in the numbers and the distractions they provided- for once. She hardly blinked as another wadded up piece of paper landed on her desk, and calmly, she swept it off, continuing on with her math homework.

This had been going on for the past 50 minutes, ever since the block started and her math teacher, the jovial yet boring Mr. Tingle, began to nasally make his way through the lesson plan.

"And so you see," he said, and Zelda looked up briefly, narrowing her eyes slightly as another crumpled ball of paper flew past her vision (she hadn't detected the source yet as she had no desire to, but judging from the trajectory angle at which said paper balls were being tossed from, it was the timid little nerdy sophomore throwing love notes at her head. Or possibly the senior football player. She wasn't sure which.) "The equation is tangent to…"

Zelda looked back down at her homework, which she'd mostly figured out herself, from reading her textbook. She'd never been much for math, but ever since she'd come back from winter holiday, things had begun to become easier for her. Perhaps it was because she was trying to find distraction from life in her studies, probably the triforce's doing, or mayhap the triforce of wisdom was aptly misnamed, and should be hereafter called the triforce of all things brainy. Zelda wasn't sure which.

Doink. Another ball landed on Zelda's desk. She sighed, brushing it off again, and continued on with her homework, ignoring Malon's snicker from the seat behind her.

It was going to be a _looooong_ day…

&-

In team sports that day, they had to jog the track. Unfortunately.

She tried to zone out the obscene whistles and catcalls from the sophomore football team- the little slime balls were sitting in the stands of the amphitheater-esque stadium. On the field, the special ed kids were playing catch- Zelda highly doubted that they were wolf whistling at poor Anna May Dean, who was short, very overweight, and, unfortunately, mentally retarded. And there were no other females in her unusually small team sports class except two clumsy, geeky freshman girls who kept to themselves, and also another junior that Zelda didn't know particularly well, with short dyed-black hair and a bored face who hung out with a group of massive thugs and smoked pot after school outside the gates.

Zelda sighed, shaking her head, and continued to jog, then quickly hopped backwards to dodge the red ball that came flying her way from the field. A chorus of laughter followed from the peanut gallery, and it took all Zelda's will not to pick up the bright red object and hurl it into the stands where the jerks sat. Instead, she rolled the ball back onto the field and continued to jog, blocking out the noise of the boys and concentrating on her breathing.

&-

Zelda sighed and deposited her timed writing, _Analysis of Major Symbols in Kafka's The Metamorphosis_, in the basket and trooped back across the room to her desk, lying her head down on her arms. She wasn't the first in the class to finish with the tedious essay, but she wasn't the last, either; the restless shifting around her, however, was only growing as the end of class neared.

Her head was hurting her, badly. She sighed into the inky black escape of her folded arms over the cheap fake wooden desk and closed her eyes. She didn't hear the rustle or zip of her Prada bag, and didn't notice when it was returned to its spot just next to her desk. When the bell rang she straightened up and slung her backpack over her shoulder, wandering out of the room to study hall, which was, of course, in the same room as homeroom. Luckily, though, it was silent and she was left to her own devices, and nobody in there harassed her.

_I think I'll write a note to Lulu, _Zelda decided. She hadn't been able to talk to the beautiful girl much lately, to her infinite sadness- Zelda loved Malon dearly, but sometimes (quite often, actually) she needed a break from the colorful chaos of Malon's personality for the calmer, more soothing but equally passionate existence that Lulu held.

She reached down for her bag, unzipping the pen pocket, and her fingers closed around a narrow stick. Curious, she drew it out- when had she gotten a popsicle?

It was cherry, her favorite, in the shape of a cupid, and Zelda was pretty sure she'd never seen it before. Tied to the bottom:

"You're so hot, say you'll be mine  
Baby, you're _my_ Valentine"

…..Gr.

&-

Lunch, Zelda spent hiding in the library, choosing starvation (not that she was particularly hungry, anyway, as the day's chaos and random being-assaulted-in-the-hall-ness had left her without an appetite) and then she went to French, hoping that the worst was over.

She was right, mostly. Sort of.

Class began and the teacher began to speak. And then, behind her, in her ear- "Bonseiur, mi amour."

"Shove off," Zelda replied to the whisper from the seat behind her.

"Come now, my dove. Is French not the language of love?"

"French doesn't do it for me anymore- I'm afraid I had a bit of a bad experience with a Frenchman over the holiday. Now would you please go away? I'm not interested."

Unfortunately, Zelda had to deal with the guy in the seat behind her (a guy named Tiel, if she remembered right) dropping notes over her shoulder the rest of the block asking about this Frenchman and begging her to do unseemly things with him.

At the end of the block, Zelda practically dashed from school, only to, unfortunately, careen straight into poor Tael as he made his wide-eyed way through the mill of happily conversing students.

"Sorry, little brother, but I've gotta jet," she apologized, patting his rumpled dark hair, so deep a red that it was nearly black. It reminded Zelda a lot of Lulu's hair, except…well…red. Ish. It did compliment his pale skin in an oddly nice way, though. Astoundingly.

"Hide me," he squeaked, and Zelda sighed, grabbing his wrist.

"You live near me. You ride the train?"

"Yeah…" Wide-eyed nod. Zelda grinned inwardly. Cute little fishy.

"Come on. We're getting out of here."

She half dragged him and half was dragged by him off of campus, and as she passed her beloved friend, she grabbed Link's elbow and hauled him along too- the attractive young man seemed very confused as to why Zelda and this random freshman were moving as though the devil was on their heels.

"What's the rush?" Link managed to reach into his backpack and jam his dying green hat atop his unruly wheat locks.

"Valentine bad for Tael," stated the little freshman. Zelda nodded in wholehearted agreement.

"Yes, bad, very very bad…."

"What happened?"

"Nothing," the two chimed as they skidded through the bars into the train station and stood, antsy, at the edge of the platform, waiting for the train to arrive.

"Bad."

"Bad!"

"Evil demons."

"Stalking."

"Predators."

"Going to abduct me."

"Eat our souls!" Zelda squeaked and hopped into Link's arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in his shoulder. "Protect me!"

"I thought you said you wouldn't ever need me to protect you again." Link stood there, puzzled, totally oblivious to the fact that his arms had gone up on autopilot and caught poor, twitchy Zelda.

"I lied."

"Here's the train!" Tael hopped up and down from one foot to another, looking oddly comical as he twisted the hem of his shirt in his hands.

Zelda poked Link and grudgingly he dropped her, and as the train pulled to a stop with a hiss of hydraulics in front of the three, Zelda and Tael bolted on, hardly waiting for the doors to open, and Link followed at a rather tortoise-esque pace, puzzled.

"So what's this you two are mumbling about? And by the way, I don't know you, dude."

"I'm Tael."

"Honorary little brother," Zelda added, petting his head and looking out the door as though expecting someone to leap through with buckets and bouquets of over peppy flowers and statements of undying ardor.

"Nice to meet you, Tael. I'm Link." He jerked his thumb at Zelda, grinning wolfishly. "Her brainless bodyguard."

"You do a terrible job of it, it might be added," Zelda interjected, and then sighed as the doors closed.

"So what happened today?"

She looked him up and down. "Nothing." It was a sigh as Zelda and Tael slumped over on one another, unanimously shuddering. "Sort of," Tael added.

"Sounds like both your days were the same."

"Probably," Zelda replied, and looked at Tael. "How bad?"

"Mortifyingly horrid."

"My condolences."

"Accepted and appreciated."

"Are you two sure you're not siblings?" Link looked between the young blonde and the dark headed freshman with a smirk. "You sound exactly alike."

"Nope, just disturbed at the moment. We should be back to normal shortly."

"Shortly meaning never."

"Of course."

Silence.

"Are either of you going to tell me anything or will I have to beat it out of you?"

Zelda and Tael shared a look.

"Our lips are locked," Zelda stated plainly.

"If you touch her, she might maim you," Tael added, pointing at Zelda. "Don't touch her."

"Listen to the man, Link. He knows what he's talking about."

Link shook his head. "You guys are _so_ weird."

&-

Zelda was sulking. She'd had a bad day, and both Malon and Lulu were out on dates with their boyfriends, which, of course, made her feel worse.

"We're really sorry, Zel," Lulu had said over the conference call.

"Yeah. We'll be back before too long," Malon added, and the young women had said their goodbyes, leaving Zelda to her own devices. Of course, Zelda's "devices" wound up to be moping, throwing things, glaring at the perky flowers, and then finally taking refuge in the entertainment room, again, and watching _Starsky and Hutch_ in her pajamas, accompanied by a large bowl of popcorn and one Valoo.

"I hate Hallmark," she told Valoo, throwing a kernel of popcorn at the television. "It's Hallmark's fault, this whole stupid Valentine mess. Yeah. Hallmark."

Valoo blinked twice and stretched.

"I mean, it's not like I try and get myself into messes with boys constantly. It's not like I even flirt with guys. Hell, I mostly keep to myself, don't I? But Hallmark said, hey, let's make Zelda's life a living hell and get a lot of extra money while you're at it! Boys, want her to sleep with you? Give her a card and some flowers and she'll be your personal whore in no time!" Zelda sniffled, shoving a handful of popcorn down her yap. She chewed blearily for a moment, swallowed, and continued. "I don't ask for this trouble. I really don't! I mean, they only like me because I'm in a rock band and the band just so happens to be good. They don't even know me. They just know that I'm a chick and that I'm not completely cursed in the looks department and that's good enough for them, my feelings aside." She sighed. "Oh, Valoo… whatever am I supposed to do?"

"Do you always talk to yourself?"

"Go away, Link."

"You sure you don't want some company?"

"I'm sure." She didn't bother to turn and look at him- she remained steadfast in front of the television. "Please, I just want to be alone right now."

"Okay…"

She heard him slip quietly from the room, and, feeling a lump in her throat, Zelda promptly dumped out all the popcorn in the oversized bowl and pulled it over her head, beginning to sob. He was at her side in an instant. The security of him, the near warmth of him, the strong arm wrapped tenderly around her shoulders only made her cry even harder.

"Zelda, now, please tell me what's wrong."

She shook her head, and the bowl spun slightly.

"At least take the popcorn bowl off of your head?"

"No."

He sighed, and Zelda couldn't tell through her sobs whether it was one of amusement or frustration. "Your hair is going to get all greasy."

"I don't care. Maybe then people will leave me alone!"

His arm tensed momentarily, and Zelda instantly realized what she'd said. "I'm sorry, Link, I didn't mean it… well, I did, but not about you…" She clutched the edge of the large blue plastic bowl and pulled it up over her watery eyes and swollen, blotched cheeks, looking at him. "Really. Without you I'd probably be insane. Er." She sniffled and buried her head back in the bowl. Link sighed and pulled it off her head, and gently removed the greasy popcorn remnants from her hair, even as she turned away.

"Come on, Zelda," he said gently, his voice washing over like a calming wave. "It's okay to cry."

She turned to him, her eyes rimmed scarlet, and sniffed. "Really?"

A gentle smile spread across his features as he brushed a strand of hair from her face. "Yes, Zelda, really."

And she was clinging to him for dear life a second later, sobbing out all the day's frustrations on his shoulder, her popcorn-greased hair in his face, but he didn't seem to mind as he whispered in her ear that things would be okay, that everything would be fine, that everybody who was chasing after her wasn't worthy of her in the least, that she was a queen among queens, magic…

He rocked her quietly for a while, waiting for her sobs to subside. After what felt like forever and no time at all, Zelda pulled away from Link, smiling blearily.

"Thanks, Link. Ugh," she sniffled, wiping her eyes on the back of her hands. "I must look like a mess."

"No you don't," Link said, brushing a strand of greasy hair away from her face. Zelda let out a short, staccato laugh, pressing her pale lips together.

"Yes I do. I bet I look like heck, ugh, probably like a cow, all splotchy…"

"You look beautiful," Link replied sincerely, and Zelda looked away.

"I'm going to have a horrible headache later… crying hurts my head… I'm going to go take a shower."

"You do that. It'll help you feel better. If you need anything, come get me, okay?"

"Okay." Watery smile. "Thank you, Link." Her tone was sincere.

"No problem."

He watched her go and then turned, looking at the TV screen. And then just a minute later, Impa appeared in the door.

"Yeah Mom?"

Impa smiled at her son, and then jerked her head in the direction of the kitchen. "A big pot of flowers arrived for Zelda today from her brother. Hibiscus blossoms. Sheik sent her a plant for Valentine's Day. I need you to carry it up to her room. It's too heavy for me."

"Did he send a letter with it?" Link had met Sheik briefly in his visit to "The House", and the young man had intrigued him and amused him beyond all imagination.

"Yes," Impa replied to Link's question. "There's a letter for us there, too."

"For us?"

Impa nodded. "His mother has moved to Mr. Harkinian's house, and has begun to understand why Zelda left."

"Oh…" He wasn't sure where this was going, wasn't sure he wanted to know.

And then Impa dropped the bomb on him, just as she had nine months before in June, knocking him breathless.

"Shiek's moving in with us next month, just after spring break."

&-

**uploaded: 7:10 PM**

**Wednesday, April 13, 2005**

**A/n**: Hiiii people. Sorry this took so long. I'm struggling through the next chapter and so far things aren't looking happy. My utmost apologies. Updates are now going to hopefully be on Saturdays and Wednesdays, a week apart. Reason for this is stress and stuff, yeah, I know, you've heard it all before… blah, whatever. No new news, I don't believe, aside from soap-operatic prom mess (yeah, prom is this Saturday) and crappy life stuff. Whatever. Go ahead and contact me. I can't say that I'll get right back to you (as I'm very busy and am also playing through Wind Waker so that I can fill in the last of the gaps) but I WILL reply. Probably. Thank you to all your support so far, and stick with me. Things are going to ROCK soon. And bwahahaha, we get to see more of Shiek. Fangirls rejoice, and everybody else, roll on the ground laughing hysterically at everybody's favorite spandex-boy.

So long, farewell, until we meet agaiiiinnnnn! glass cracks


	25. Ordinary Hero

**Two-zero, Five: Ordinary Hero**

_This chapter is dedicated to Sakura of the Ninjitsu. Sorry about the rough times. You deserve a Link hug. I hope you feel better soon, dude._

The rest of the week passed in a quiet blur. On Saturday morning, Link awoke and discovered that Zelda was nowhere to be found. Not in the "weight room", which was really a guest room that had a dusty bowflex stuck in it, not in the room the family was preparing for Shiek, not in her room, not in her closet or her bathroom, not in either of the girls' rooms, not hiding in the master bedroom, not in the parlor, which was only used for formal occasions and most usually was shut off from the rest of the house (Link doubted if Zelda had been in it twice), she wasn't hiding in the coat closet or the entertainment room or the kitchen or the good dining room (also rarely used), she wasn't anywhere in the basement, not hiding even in the dryer, and she wasn't in the attic.

Frustrated, the young man wandered out of the house, pulling his green Godzilla "I EAT N00BZ" hoodie tighter around him. It was an unusually cold day that February, especially in comparison to the relatively beautiful winter they'd been granted. Still, though, Link was determined to find Zelda, and he was sure she wasn't at a friend's- she always told someone before she left, or would write a note and stick it on the fridge or something, so that left one other place.

Sure enough, Link was right. He caught his first sight of her rounding the top of the hill-ish cliff-esque outcropping- she was down on the sand of the beach, lying on her back, spread eagled, staring at the sky. Her chest was heaving up and down as she breathed heavily, and, as he watched, unseen, she hauled herself to her feet once more, muscles straining and sleek with sweat underneath the tee and cotton shorts she wore. As he looked up from her, he saw the small, unusual, almost demented obstacle course she'd set up, presumably with junk pilfered from the garage and basement. And, from the looks of it, she'd been at it for several hours, if not all night.

He also saw the stop watch hanging from her neck, and he saw her take a runner's position, exhale, hit the "go" button on the stopwatch and begin to dash.

What happened next was amazing.

She wasn't fast but she was lithe, stealthy. He watched as she slipped, dashed, rolled, pivoted, and leapt in an odd figure eight through the deranged obstacle course. Thirty seconds later she was back where she'd started, lying spread eagle on the ground on the beach, breathing hard. Clapping, Link descended the steps to squat on the grainy sand next to her.

"Impressive," he told her, plopping down. Sweat beaded her neck and forehead and nose and dripped from her shoulders. Her shirt, a soft baby blue cotton, was soaked through. "What for?"

"I need to be in better shape."

"Why?"

"Because I need to be in better shape." She rolled over, sand sticking to her sweaty body, and grimaced. However, she said nothing, and remained there, cheek in the grainy earth, panting.

Link picked up a sand dollar that was resting half-buried in a dune. "Penny for your thoughts."

Her fingers closed around it. "Your birthday is next month, isn't it?"

It was a startling query, and so, of course, Link looked at Zelda as though she were positively insane. "Yes…."

"Twenty-eighth?"

"That's right…"

"What do you want for your birthday?"

A chilly wind blew around them. Zelda sighed with exhausted bliss as it hit her hot skin- Link pulled his hoodie tighter around him, shivering.

"A car." He chewed on the inside of his cheek as he stared at the sea, one hand clasped around his other wrist, arms looped around his knees.

"Not going to buy you one. What else?"

"I don't know. Get me some wall scrolls or a box of fireworks or illegal contraband like flash grenades or something."

Zelda cracked a grin. "Hah, flash grenades…" She propped herself up on her elbow, and Link was amused to note her cheek was covered in sand. "We could have fun with those. Say, Link, you aren't mad about Sheik moving in, are you?"

"Mmm? No. It would be nice to have another male in the household. You know, Dad's here and all but he's hardly home so the whole house is overrun by estrogen. Sheik seemed cool- I could use an ally. What about you?"

"He's going to be my brother." She rolled over again, spread eagled, staring at the clouded wintry sky. "But I don't mind. He's fun, and he knows when to back off."

"You don't think we'll get house-sick of him?"

"I doubt it."

They lapsed into silence, punctuated by the roar of the surf pounding against the beach. After a time, Link stood, dusting off the back of his pants, and offered a hand to Zelda. "Coming in?"

"Yeah." Weakly, she grabbed his hand, trying to heave herself to her feet. "I can't get up. Help me?"

"You shouldn't exhaust yourself so much," Link stated, easily swinging Zelda up to her feet and wrapping an arm around her waist to stabilize her as she stumbled, exhausted, towards the steps hewn into the cliff face. "Maybe one of these days you'll be too tired to move, and I won't be around, and then where will you be?"

"Floating out to sea," Zelda stated dreamily. "On the waves. The tide consumes and then recedes, and it would consume me and suck me under, to return me to the darkness that was once part of the world too."

"You've been reading that Atlantis book I got you a bit too much," Link stated, hoisting Zelda up a little more as she stumbled over another step. "And I think you're sick. You shouldn't exercise in the cold in practically nothing. It can make you really very sick, no joke."

"I'm not sick," she replied, yawning. "I'm just tired. You try a good old fashioned Sheikah obstacle course, see how you like it."

"Sheikah obstacle course? Are you sure you're feeling okay?"

"I'm sure." She leaned more heavily onto him as they walked down the slope. "Yeah, Audrey emailed me instructions on how to put one together. She got in contact with the tribe."

"Tribe? Are you talking about Mom's cult?"

"Nope. You're thinking of something else."

He exhaled, helping her up the steps, and turned to her on the porch, before the kitchen door. "Then what are you talking about?"

"The Sheikah are old, older than you can even begin to possibly imagine. See, they were originally a shadow people, indigenous to a certain island…" She plopped down on the railing of the porch. "The island flooded and the Sheikah, along with several others, were the only ones able to escape, and even then, there were few. They mingled with the people of the outside world, their blood became diluted… but they kept their ways as best they could. The tribe grew and grew, and disagreements happened. Branches split off, some forsaking the Sheikah way, others totally embracing it to the point of radical stupidity. And then each branch had sub branches. Your mom was probably part of a sub branch."

"And why should I believe you?"

"Because." Zelda yawned again, then grinned at Link. "You love me."

Link was sure he'd swallowed his own tongue and that it was currently sliding down his esophagus, judging from the sudden lump there and the inability to speak.

"Also because it ties in with all the other funny legends, and the supernatural occurrence of perfect triangles on the back of my left hand. See, Link, it makes perfect sense. You know where pirates come from?"

He was humoring her now, trying to detract from her all-too-true statement. "Where?"

"The same island. And you've heard of elves, right? They were from the island, too, as well as fairies and mermaids and zombies and ogres and leprechauns."

"I think you need to go inside now."

"It's true," Zelda continued blearily. "I can prove it to you with genetics. Elves are a form of mutated human, or perhaps humans are mutated elves. No, elves are mutated humans because the Gerudo Tribe didn't have pointed ears. But it was only ears, you know, some people have brown hair some people have blond. But Elvin ears were a recessive trait, and so when they began to produce offspring from normal humans, the pointy ear gene was lost."

"And what about leprechauns and ogres and mermaids and zombies and fairies?"

"Leprechauns are children that never grow up, originally lived in a maze-like forest. That's why they wear green, it was originally camouflage. Ogres are really just a kind, pacifistic form of rock dweller, indigenous, boulder-ish. Think Darmani, but very tan. Mermaids are a deviation from fish, an odd mutation that could walk on land and produce offspring with humankind. "

"And zombies?"

"The corpses of the dead who were slaughtered by the hand of the dark lord during the seven year war. Link, I'm tired, can we go inside?"

"Zelda, it still isn't much after eight in the morning. Did you sleep last night?" It would certainly explain a lot…

She shook her head. "No, I was out practicing in the dark."

"Why in the dark?"

"Because that's the way you do a Sheikah obstacle course. In the dark. The Sheikah were shadow dwellers. Don't believe me, ask your mom."

"I think you need to go to bed now. Zelda? Zelda…"

She'd passed out on his shoulder.

&-

"I pulled a stupid," she told her mirror quite matter-of-factly. "I pulled a very stupid."

But really, could anyone blame her? It wasn't like she'd been TRYING to pass out on the beach. She'd just… worked too hard. Honestly, she hadn't even realized that she'd worked through the night until the sun rose, and even then, she'd told herself, just a while longer, just a while longer, but just a while longer had been a wee bit too long.

"Stupid."

Impa swept in at that moment, and smiled at her keep, before sitting down next to her atop Zelda's rumpled bed.

"What was your final time on the obstacle course?"

"Three twenty-five," Zelda recited blankly. "Wait. You know about the obstacle course?"

"I was a member of the Sheikah tribe for quite a while after all, you know. Now the question that remains: why might you set up an obstacle course? And, moreover, how would you even hear about one?"

"Uhhh…."

"I think I know the answer, though."

"Uhhhh… I'm not sure I know what you're…"

"Your hand, dear," Impa sighed in exasperation. Zelda very nearly fell off the edge of the bed. "No need to play dumb," added the Sheikah woman as Zelda fumbled for words. "Though my mother might have split from the cult, she did tell me stories, pass down some of the traditions… such as the obstacle course, for example.

"But... but… but…"

"I assume," Impa cut Zelda off, "that Shiek also bears the same mark?"

"Yeah, but… how would you know that? How would you even be able to guess that?"

The white-haired woman raised an eyebrow, making a quirky expression at Zelda.

"I would think that it would be glaringly, painfully obvious to anyone educated in the Lore, which I assume you are?"

"Ummm…"

"Zelda?"

"I'm sorry," she blurted. "But this is all just terribly confusing."

Now Impa just looked confused. Zelda decided to continue. "I mean, I thought that the only ones who knew any of the tales were the descendants of the r…" She clamped her mouth shut before she could say anything more, something probably incredibly stupid.

"Your mother died in childbirth, did she not?"

Zelda nodded, mute.

"I see. Things make sense, then. Did you only have the journal and the triforce to go off of?"

"Well… yeah…"

"Of course, of course. I should have understood sooner." Impa stood up, clapping her hands. "In that case, we have no choice."

"No what?"

"We'll begin your education when Shiek arrives. After all, it's part of his heritage as well."

"What?"

"Why, I'm going to teach you everything you need to know."

"I… you… what?"

Impa sighed, shaking her head, and knelt in front of Zelda, looking into the girl's eyes.

"I'm going to tell you, as my duty to my ancestors, honored tradition, and the Sheikah way dictate, everything that you must know. If you could accept the goddess' gift to you, you can accept that I am not who you've thought me to be for so long. Not wholly, at any rate. I'm going to teach you your history and heritage, as well as what to expect and what your abilities may be. As a descendant of the royal guard, it's my job. Can you accept this, Zelda?"

She gave a weak meep and a miniscule nod. For all that Impa's words had been gentle, they had also been forceful. Obey.

"Good," Impa said, sitting back, satisfied. "I might as well call your aunt and inform her that I'll be taking over your studies." The woman made to leave, only to find herself stopped by a small chirp from her new pupil.

"Impa?"

"Yes?"

"Is Link going to bear the Triforce of Courage?"

The older woman sighed.

"I don't know, Zelda. I pray not."

She couldn't help asking. "Why not?"

"It's a heavy burden to carry any portion of the Triforce. As it is, you only have half a segment of the triforce of wisdom. Sheik, your counterpart, carries the other half. But as the Hero of Time only existed on one time stream, it's a difficult burden to carry. Many of the men who have held Courage suffered difficult fates. There's a legend, though, that my people formulated in an attempt to explain the unhappy curse upon the triforce of courage."

"Which is?"

Impa came and sat back down next to Zelda, smoothing her pleated purple skirt out around her. "And he shalt bear an eternity of suffering and solitude upon his back until it shall consume him, for the horrors seen in one lifetime will last him through many of the next until one of suitable fortitude shalt wash away his pains, and in the washing both shall be consumed by holy flames. It's a Sheikian Prophecy, out of a book rather considered our bible."

"Explain that to me in plain English, please?"

"In essence, the Hero of Time was a wanderer. He wound his way through many lands and times, fighting for all that was good. Yet to triumph, he saw many horrors that we can't even begin to imagine. The line of the hero will continue on, but only because it must continue on. After that, the interpreters think that courage and wisdom will fight together to vanquish power once and for all, and when their labors are completed, their burdens will wash away and they'll go to the sacred realm."

"Like heaven?"

"Kind of."

"But what's the bit about holy flames?"

Impa shrugged one shoulder. "Nobody is quite sure. I believe the magic of the goddesses was supposed to look something like fire, to an extent."

"So it's the goddesses calling them to the sacred realm."

"In essence, yes, I do believe so."

Zelda sat for a while, thinking over what Impa had said.

"So, once I or whoever it is defeats whoever else it is that holds the triforce of power, I'll die?"

"No. You'll be granted everlasting life and peace," Impa stated simply. "It just… won't be here. You'll be happy, though."

"Which basically means I'm going to vanish and go to the spiritual realm."

Impa sighed briefly, and then nodded. "As will the seven sages. But it's all been accommodated for, planned out. You have to realize that this is a great big diving chessboard and there's bigger things happening here than the individual."

Zelda nodded sulkily. "I understand. I'm just a tool."

"No," Impa stated firmly. "You are the descendant of an Elvin queen mightier than the likes of anyone has known since the flood. In a sort of sense, you are the queen, reincarnated, and to be reincarnated until your task is complete. You are important, Zelda. You are the spirit of something untouchable and unreachable and utterly divine. Don't think for one second that you're just a pawn. In essence, you are the messiah."

"I'd rather be normal." Zelda flopped over into her pillow and Impa stood.

"I'm sure that's what the Queen said, too, so long ago." And Impa was gone.

Zelda stayed how she was for a long time, and then sat up, leaning back against her pillows.

_"I'm sure that's what the Queen said, too, so long ago."_

"Yeah," Zelda snorted in reply. "Right after the Hero of Time ditched her. I don't want a legacy. I just want to be me. To be Zelda."

But at that moment, normal was such an absurd and intangible idea that Zelda didn't know how to define it or where to start and so, sulking, she flopped back down into her bed and fell into a fitful sleep.

&-

Towards evening, Zelda finally hauled her sorry self out of bed, glancing around her room at the few flowers remaining from the previous week- most had died already, and Zelda had started her very own compost heap. Sort of. Did lots and lots of dead roses count as compost?

Whatever. Zelda pulled herself off of the bed, disrupting Valoo, who had been sleeping on her stomach, and took two whiffs of herself, then grimaced. Disgusting.

Yawning, she stumbled to the bathroom, and turned the shower on, stripping down. She stepped into the warm spray, allowing it to soak her through, rinsing off the exhaustion and sweat of the previous strenuous night.

Fifteen luxurious minutes later, Zelda stepped out, awake and rejuvenated. She wrapped a fluffy pink towel around herself and then padded back into her room, in search of proper performance clothes for the upcoming night. The band was planning on having it be one of their larger performances- with the rising number of people in the crowd, Mikau felt it would be necessary to put on a big show tonight, to reward the fans and to draw new ones. Zelda agreed.

After rummaging through her disorganized closet for a while, Zelda thought she'd found what she wanted. A pair of shin-high black velvet stiletto go-go boots, a black skirt with a shredded handkerchief hemline, and a black, red, and white spaghetti strap top from hot topic that looked like a corset, laces and all. To top off the look, Zelda tied a sparkly red sequined cloth around her hair, which she left down in mild ringlets, and put in large silver hoop earrings and a touch of makeup.

"Hells yeah," she said to her reflection, twirling once and causing the skirt to float. "I look like a pirate!" She twirled again, alarmingly agile and surefooted in the killer stilettos, and grabbed her bass, then clicked out of her room and down the stairs, dropping her bass carefully at the back door in the kitchen.

"Well aren't you dressed to kill." Link, of course.

"Thank you. We're having a big gig tonight. Unleashing a lot of new songs on the innocent masses, announcing the date of our CD release…"

They'd been using some software Darmani's older brother had been able to acquire to record their first album, and were getting Cremia (who was astoundingly deft with digital music manipulation) to make it sound high-quality. It looked as though it would be complete within another two weeks.

"You eating dinner here tonight?"

"Nope. Mal, Lu, and Cremia are gong to bring us Quizno's. We're going to eat after we set up."

"You going to be able to set up in those boots?"

Zelda followed Link's blue gaze down to her killer four-inch heels, and grinned.

"I've broken into a sprint in these before. It's not an issue."

He whistled, shaking his head. "Wild woman. So while we wait for Malon to come by, can we talk?"

"Sure." Zelda watched, bemused, as Link pulled a chair from the table and whirled it around, plopping down into it wrong-side front and resting his arms on the wooden back.

"So."

"So." Zelda pulled out a chair for herself and sat down, crossing her legs at the knees and idly flicking some dust off of her black boots. There was silence. Link cleared his throat.

"How do you feel about Sheik moving in with us?"

She didn't bat an eye. Shrugging one pale shoulder delicately, she sighed. "I'm fine with it. Slightly apprehensive, nervous he'll blow something up at school… did you know he's a pyromaniac?"

Link let out a surprised laugh. "No, I didn't know that. Should've guessed, though. He's got red eyes like Dilandau."

"Dilandau?"

"Eh." This time, it was Link's turn to shrug. "Pyromaniac sex-changed albino antagonist in an anime I like, obsessed with burning things."

"Was the director or whatever on crack?"

"Nah. It is cheaper than actual anime itself, though, and less addictive."

Zelda snorted. "You're weird, boy."

"I try." Cheeky grin. Link tapped his fingers on the table, staring at a point somewhere between Zelda's left ear and her shoulder. "Hey Zellie?"

"Yeah?"

Silence. Then he began again.

"You know, Prom's coming up in early April, and I was just wondering…"

Zelda's heart rate sped up two notches. "Yes, Link?"

"Well, it's junior and seniors only, and…"

Zelda held her breath.

"Are you going to go?"

Whoosh.

"I don't know. Maybe. If some of my friends go, yeah. Why?"

Link shrugged. "None of my friends are going. They think it's a waste of money on the tux and the tickets, and I agree. But I've already got all those tuxes your dad bought me for the wedding, and I'm trying to figure out whether or not I'm going to put in an appearance."

"Hmmm." Zelda chewed thoughtfully on her lip, watching Link's back as he went to get water. "Well, you've got until early April to decide, right?"

"Not really." Link turned on the sink and raised his voice to be heard over the sound of the water. "See, when they start selling tickets, they're cheap, but that's on the second week in March, just before spring break. After spring break, the tickets are incremented by about five bucks a week, until either Prom or they're sold out, and I refuse to buy expensive tickets."

"Mm. Do you have anyone you want to take to prom? You know, a date?" Her smile was coy, a one-sided smirk, following Link as he plopped back down at the table and threw his head back, downing his icy water.

He eyed her over the rim of his glass, gulped, and wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. "Maybe I do, maybe I don't," he stated, shaking his head and causing his shaggy wheat hair to whirl around him, minute silver hoop earrings glinting in the light. "You'll just have to find out for yourself, Princess."

"Does that mean I get to beat it out of you?"

"No." He finished his glass of water and Zelda pouted, grabbing it and spinning it around.

"You spoil my fun, Mr. Hero."

"Of course I do." He patted Zelda's head, and then turned, facing the back door. "Malon's here."

Zelda furrowed her brows. "Huh? Listen, how would you know if Malon is here?"

Knock knock. "Zelda?"

Link gave another of his infamous smirks. "I have an acute sense of hearing."

"Come in, Malon," Zelda called over her shoulder, and then, standing up from the table, "you're coming tonight, right?" She grabbed Link's hand and squeezed his fingers slightly as she spoke, then dropped his hand as Malon walked in the door.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world. Have fun tonight, Princess."

"Of course I will. You too," Zelda replied, bopping him on the head and picking up her guitar in its gig bad. Then, to Malon, "you're early."

"Yeah, well I have to get you bums dinner so I figured I'd pick you up early so you could get there early, so that I could go get your food before a whole bunch of people go in."

"Gotcha. Bye Link," she called over her shoulder as he left. His goodbye followed her out, and, smiling slightly, Zelda walked with Malon down the porch steps and down the gravel-clad incline to Malon's black hummer.

"What's all that Princess business? Is that, like, his cutesy pet name for you?"

"Nicknames, very sarcastic," Zelda stated as she deposited her bass in Malon's trunk, and then pulled herself into the back seat, coming nearly nose to nose with Cremia. Zelda stopped for a moment, taken aback by the girl looking her levelly in the eyes. Sometimes Cremia's bright blue gaze was nothing short of unnerving. "Um, hi."

"Hi."

"Cream's decided that she's a vampire. Right, Creamy?"

"Correct. What's this I hear about you being a princess?"

"Um, ahahah." Zelda gave a nervous laugh despite herself. Oh, if only Cremia knew. "Link being a smartass."

"A hot smartass," Cremia corrected.

"Yeah. That too."

Zelda's spidey-sense told her that tonight would be a long, long night.

&-

She'd been right- the night had been long, the performance had been long. It was their last song, a new song, and Zelda was singing it. Mikau nodded at him- he was obviously tired. His shaggy hair hung into his eyes, dripping with sweat.

"Hey guys," she said, stepping up to the mike. "I hope you've enjoyed the concert." A resonating cheer sounded through The Phantom's Lair. Apparently, the crowd was not as tired as the band. "Cool. This is our last song to the night, it's called Hero. I'm sure you've all heard it before- it's a cover of Foo Fighters. Anyway, we decided to each dedicate this song to someone important to us." She stepped back and nodded at Darmani. He pulled the mike next to his drum up to his face and stood up, looking out into the crowd.

"I'm dedicating this song to my cousin, Darunia. He's an awesome dude, really powerful. Darunia keeps me going when I'm down. Darunia, this one's for you."

Clap, cheer.

Mikau: "I'm dedicating this song in the memory of my cousin, Carth. Carth was always a great role model to me, and even though he's gone, his memory lives on. Wherever you are, Carth, I just want you to know, I'm still thinking of you man."

Clap, cheer. A few girls wiped their eyes.

Zelda took a deep breath, stepping up.

"And I'd like to dedicate this song to my best friend," she smiled a little, "Link. Link, you may be an absolute jerk at times, but you've been my guardian angel and saved me from countless messes. So thank you, Link, for being there, even if I throw things at you when I have a bad day."

She stepped back and smiled nervously, inhaling and looking at Darmani. He began the riff, and the last song of the night began.

_Too alarming now to talk about  
Take your pictures down and shake it out  
Truth or consequence, say it aloud  
Use that evidence, race it around_

There goes my hero  
Watch him as he goes  
There goes my hero  
He's ordinary

Don't the best of them bleed it out  
While the rest of them peter out  
Truth or consequence, say it aloud  
Use that evidence, race it around

There goes my hero  
Watch him as he goes  
There goes my hero  
He's ordinary

Kudos my hero leaving all the best  
You know my hero, the one that's on

There goes my hero  
Watch him as he goes  
There goes my hero  
He's ordinary

Link agreed to go home with Zelda that night, to help the exhausted young woman stay awake on the long ride home in the back of Malon's large hummer. He slipped his arm around the shoulders of his tired friend and she fell against his chest, soothed by the sound of his steady heartbeat and soft breathing. It was quiet in the car; Malon showed no signs of weariness and Lulu was sitting shotgun, conversing softly over the sound of the weak late night radio talk and occasional music coming from the stereo. Cremia was curled up in the middle section of seats, presumably sleeping, her red rimmed glasses hanging almost halfway off her nose.

"Did you like the show?" she murmured it quietly into the soft fabric of Link's shirt- he had a unique scent, calming, soapy and clean and warm; it reminded her of the surf during summer.

"I did," he replied, his voice gentle ocean waves washing through her soul. "I liked your dedication to me, too."

"Heh." Zelda yawned, curling up more securely on her dearest friend in the world, and then looked up at him with sleep-bleary eyes. "I was the one who wanted to cover the song in the first place. It was for you, you know. Or, anyway, it was written about you."

"Too bad I don't personally know any of the Foo Fighters." His voice was laced with humor.

Zelda wearily waved a hand. "That's not important. You know, something great can be created with a specific recipient, but in the creation process, something changes. I think that there's something important somewhere that fits every last person like a glove, makes them special. And that song was written for you, whether the songwriter realized it or not. It's about you, Mr. Ordinary Hero."

"Ordinary, huh?"

She nodded, plainly half-asleep. "Uh huh. Say, Link," she yawned, "since you were thinking about Prom and all earlier…"

He raised an eyebrow. "I was?"

"Yup." Nod. "Remember? Before I left? Anyway, I was thinking. Since you want to go, kind of, we should go together. You know, as friends. We can pretend to be dates, get corsages and be all geeky, just to screw with people's heads. Wouldn't that be fun?"

"Yes, Zelda, it would." Tenderly, he brushed a strand of hair from her face. "But you're tired. Nap on me, okay? I'll wake you up when we get home, and then you and I can talk about it in the morning. Sound good?"

Zelda yawned big, reminding Link rather of Valoo. "Sounds good." Two seconds later she was out and Link was lulled into a state of utter content as the young woman curled up against him slept.

&-

**uploaded****12:38 PM**

**Sunday, April 24, 2005**

**A/N**: sings happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me! Actually, not for another three days or so, however, my family party is today and I am EXCITED!

…ahem…

So we all have this incredibly woot chapter in which I worked in an absolutely fabulous song, Ordinary Hero by the Foo Fighters. Love it, love it. If you haven't heard it before, shame on you. So you need to go listen to it. Right now. Download it or poke me and I'll send it to you, as it's perfect for Link and Zelda, and, in addition, ties in the theme of an "ordinary story" quite well. Haha.

Good chapter if I do say so myself, shocks with Impa and some cute fluffy scenes. For those of you who want me to put Link and Zelda together, wait a bit mmkay? I swear, when they DO finally hook up it will be well worth the wait. Besides, do you not like humiliation and dancing around feelings and so on and so forth? I do. Mwahahahaha.

Anyway, review as always, and don't forget I LOVE YOU GUYS!

See you next Wednesday,

_Lyxie_


	26. Shopping, Sleeping, SAT

**Twenty Six: Shopping, Sleeping, S.A.T.**

The rest of February passed in a blur of band, school, and being an idiot with Link. He was determined that she should play through Escape Velocity, a space age game that Zelda was rather enjoying. She was the pilot of a brand new shuttlecraft and was quite enjoying the game. She'd never forget Link's irritated summary the first time she'd asked "WHAT DO I DO?"

He'd flicked some of that beautiful wheat hair of his out of his eyes and exhaled, explaining for the second time in five minutes. "You have to make your way in the world, Zelda. You can buy or sell commodities or accept missions for special deliveries or do cool stuff like that. As you gain more money you can upgrade and explore more star systems and after that you can do whatever your heart pleases. You can get a battleship and join the rebels, you can join the confederacy, or you can become a pirate and fight only for yourself, or if you're a coward you can stick to shipping. How does that sound to you?"

"I want to be a pirate!"

The game was turning out a little harder than she had originally anticipated, and often proved to Zelda to be downright frustrating. ("Why?" Link would ask. "It's just simple shipping.")

Sometimes, Zelda didn't see how Link could stand to game as frequently as he did.

March made its chilly appearance and things slowly began to warm, bringing the temperature up from cool and uncomfortable to moist and tepid. And with the appearance of March, Zelda realized, several massive events would come about: Link would be seventeen very soon, Sheik would be appearing, she'd have to go home probably for a few days and prom would be right around the corner just after that.

No sir, it did not look like Zelda was going to have a very easy, empty March. First order of business, she decided, would be getting Link a present. So she walked over to Tael's house one damp Saturday morning and together, the two hopped a train and rode to the mall.

"I don't understand why we had to go early," Tael stated blearily, scratching his still-sleep rumpled hair. Zelda had all but dragged him from his bed, telling him to throw a shirt and some pants on over his rooster-print boxers, grab his shoes and wallet and get moving because they didn't have much time.

"Because Link crashed last night and I want to get home before he wakes up."

"Why'd you need me, huh?"

Zelda sighed in frustration. "Because you have a Y chromosome and I don't know what Y chromosomes like. Ugh," she grumbled. "Back in Napa at least I had someone to do all the difficult shopping for me."

"Why'd you leave Napa again?"

"My dad decided I'd need a normal upbringing. Let's go in here, Tael!"

"Zelda, I don't think Link needs shoes."

"….oh, yeah. Right."

Zelda allowed herself to be drawn away from the shoe store.

"Anyway, I didn't like it much there. I might have grown up spoiled and bloody rich there, yeah, but I was miserable. Everybody hated me for no better reason than I was a snotty little princess, or so they claimed."

"Were you a snotty little princess, though?" Tael asked, casting his ruddy eyes on Zelda. She blinked, and shrugged.

"I don't think so. I kept to myself, really, I think."

"Just prejudice, then?"

"You got it. Do you think he'd want something from Spencer's?"

Tael cast a rusty glance at the store. "Spencer's is all well and good, but unless you're gonna get him "Dick Tacs" or something he'll use against you, I'd say no."

"Hmmm…"

"Maybe you could get him something simple, like a shirt from Hot Topic or something. They've got a lot of music shirts there, maybe you could grab one there for him."

"Perhaps." It was a good idea- Zelda wondered why she never in a million years would have thought of it herself. Probably because she didn't much like shopping anyway, unless it was for herself. Whoops.

They walked to an escalator, and stepped on, yawning, allowing themselves to "magically" transcend the floors in the mall. Zelda leaned heavily on Tael's shoulder, causing him to squirm and squeak.

"Ow, Zelda, you're crushing me!"

"Are you calling me fat? Silence, freshman!"

Meekly, Tael obeyed. Zelda giggled and hugged her "little bro", causing him to squawk.

"You're squeezing me!"

"Shut up."

They stepped off the escalator and meandered towards Hot Topic- often, Tael would have to remind Zelda where they were going as she began to gravitate towards various stores.

"No, Zelda, you're not going to buy Link a pretty rhinestone thong for his birthday," Tael admonished as Zelda pressed her face against the glass of Victoria's Secret, eyeing the large "SALE" sign presented within. "You can come shopping some other time, but today we have to get to Hot Topic and get you back to your place before Link wakes up. I mean, unless you're going to buy lingerie to wear _for_ him…"

Zelda smacked the "wee one", and instantly, Tael shut up. However, the little fishy did manage to drag a reluctant Zelda away from the store and across the wide catwalks to Hot Topic. Grinding rock assailed their ears as they entered, and Zelda wandered over to the wall full of T-shirts just as Tael started looking at a book called "Be Goth." She looked up and down the wall of clothes, thinking. What bands did Link like?

She left the store five minutes later with a large bag- inside was a Black Sabbath shirt, a Metallica shirt, a Beatles: Yellow Submarine shirt and a "DRACO MALFOY" Slytherin shirt. She was pretty sure Link would kill her for that last one, but she figured she could yoink it from him at any time and use it as a sleep shirt if he didn't wear it. Also for Link, Zelda had picked up a poster: THINGS YOU LEARN FROM VIDEOGAMES. All in all, she didn't think she'd done bad.

Tael had to drag Zelda past all the sales and out of the mall, but once they were out, the morning was nice. They sauntered along to the train station, sticking their tongues out at the street that led to their school, and once under the concrete train station overhang, they sat and talked merrily whilst they waited for their ride home.

"We look like negative images of each other, almost," Tael was telling Zelda as they sat and waited, "except she's several years younger than me, and also a girl. Sometimes she's impossible, but mostly, I love my sister."

"Her name's Tatl, right?"

"Right," Tael confirmed with a nod. "She's a bit younger than your not-so-sisters… whatstheirfaces."

"Saria and Jayda," Zelda offered.

"Yeah, Saria and Jayda. She sees Jayda when they're on the playground, though, and really looks up to her. I think it's funny."

"That's cute." Zelda smiled for a moment, and then turned, looking Tael up and down.

"You know, I'm not going to be an only child much longer."

"Oh?" His face twisted into an adorable mask of puppy-esque confusion.

"Yeah. My dad's getting married, and the woman he's getting married to has a son my age. He's actually coming to stay with us, too," Zelda added. "I mean, stay with Link's family. You'll like him, Sheik. He treats life like one big unbirthday party. Like in Alice in Wonderland. I wouldn't be surprised if he's the mad hatter in disguise."

"One thing's certain about that," Tael declared as they train pulled up.

"What?"

"He certainly is mad. And he likes hats."

Zelda tossed Tael an incredulous look as they boarded the train.

"Little brother, you're one strange small person that I will _never _understand."

"I try, oh magnetic one. I try."

"Don't you mean magnificent?"

"No. I mean magnetic. Like metal."

"Shut up."

&-

Zelda managed to get back home before sleeping beauty pulled himself out of his ritualistic coma. She hid the hot topic bag (in her underwear drawer, no less) and then sauntered into her frog prince's bedroom, plopping down at the end of his bed and watching for him to open his eyes.

It was a while waiting, but Zelda didn't mind. Link was interesting to watch when he slept, not to mention that she could never get her fill of looking at him. Normally animated with expressions raging from goofy euphoric highs to brooding anger, in Link's sleep, his expression was a clueless sort of stupid smile. How cute.

When Link finally opened his eyes, it was a slow fluttering motion, his dark lashes flitting upward for a moment before his face contorted into an expression of disgruntled and sleepy stupor. He squinted his eyes shut, threw a forearm over his head, and rolled on his side, burying his face in his pillow to escape the light.

Zelda very nearly cracked up.

"Hhnnnngh," it was a grunt, most probably directed at the great big ball of light trying to barge through Link's drawn blinds into his bedroom. "Gabfufkiiiihhhhhhhhhhhhh…" He was silent, facedown in his pillow.

Zelda put a hand against her mouth, trying to muffle her laughter. Link squirmed, pulling the pillow over his head, presumably muffling the sound. Zelda sighed, as she could no longer see Link's face, and instead went to studying his form- it was dappled with the easy muscles of one who was born with them. She knew that even in his sleepy state, however, were Zelda to squeeze Link's arm she would find it rock hard.

His abdomen was well defined, a strong six pack peeking out from Link's forest green blankets. His chest was relatively hairless and very well sculpted, pressed into the lighter green flat sheet covering Link's mattress pad. Just below his arm, Zelda could see a shell hemp necklace knotted around Link's neck, tied there until it fell off someday. His shaggy hair was wild, or what she could see of it, anyway; it had grown quite a bit since Zelda had first moved in with him, and she wasn't sure that he'd even had a haircut once since that summer. She imagined running her hands through the wheat strands and thought with a smile that she could probably even tie a bit of it in a small short ponytail at the back of his neck. Though on some men this look would look horrible, it oddly suited Link.

"No," he muttered in his sleep, jerking Zelda from her thoughts. He began to thrash a little. "No, watch out for the pigeon, Pinocchio…"

He rolled onto his back and his face contorted again as it was assailed by the light.

"Damn sun," he muttered, putting a hand over his eyes.

"Well if you had some curtains in here, that might help," Zelda stated wryly. "But as it is, you've only got the little plastic blinds."

"Zelda?" He definitely sounded confused. He opened his eyes to little slivers, then screwed them shut again. "Motherboard. What are you doing here?"

"Watching you sleep."

He inhaled, sounding tired and confused.

It was a short exhalation: "Why?"

She shrugged with one shoulder, crawling over to sit next to Link. "Lack of anything better to do."

"Aren't you supposed to be finishing up The Great Gatsby for English?"

He's sharper when he's half asleep, Zelda thought to herself with a crooked smile.

"I'm already a week ahead. I'm good. So I figured I'd watch my favorite human on the planet sleep."

"You flatter me." He rolled over, crashing into her knees. "Oof."

"Wacko," stated the young woman, extending her legs from underneath her and leaning back against the wall Link's bed was pushed up against.

"I try." He kept lifting his head up and letting it drop back down onto the bed- it occurred to Zelda he might be trying to position it atop her legs. Gently, she scooted over and caught his heavy skull as it careened to the mattress once more. He stopped.

A sleepy grin twisted across Link's face. "So what if I'd had morning wood?"

Zelda laughed.

"It would have been an educational experience for me. Lucky for both of us, you didn't."

"Mmmm."

Neither acknowledged the fact that Link had a very thick, lumpy comforter tucked around his waist.

She combed her hands through his hair, just as she'd been thinking about earlier, and let him nap there on her thighs.

"We're taking the SAT next weekend," he randomly stated, his voice still full of air. "Mom signed us up."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. A week from now, our brains are sponges."

"Fun."

"Mmmmhm."

Link snoozed for a while longer, and Zelda just sat there, still running her fingers through his thick wheat locks, more relaxed than she was even at the wonderful spa Malon and Lulu dragged her to once every month. Finally, she looked at the clock and sighed.

"Link, are you planning on lying in bed all day? It's almost noon and you've got school tomorrow."

"Freakin' A, school," he grumbled wheezily. "Death of me I swear to god."

"Well, your birthday is two weeks from Wednesday, isn't it? And then right after that is spring break. And then from Spring break, it's only six weeks until summer, a week of which is devoted to finals, and dead week before. Really, after spring break, we only have four weeks- two if you take out the two where everybody's doing AP testing and none of the classes can get anything done. See, Link, we're almost there. Now are you going to get up?"

He yawned large, like a cat. "No."

Zelda tried again. "Come on, Link. I'm sure you're hungry. Let's go get some food."

"No."

Sigh. "Link, I can't feel my knees because your fat head is cutting off all my circulation. At this rate I'm going to get gangrene and you'll have to give me a tourniquet, and then I'll be rushed to the hospital and they'll chop my legs off and all because you wouldn't get up."

"That's too bad. I guess I'll just have to carry you, then." He shrugged one shoulder, smirking, and quickly found his nose being pinched shut by an amusedly irritated Zelda.

"Hey Zelda, what are you doing?"

"I'm not doing anything, what are you talking about?"

"Your binching by nose."

"No I'm not. Link, I think you should get up. Lying in bed is making you imagine things."

"You're talking out your ass, Zelda. I can _see_ your hand. And lying in bed has never bade be ibagine things."

"Link," Zelda said with mock concern, squeezing his nose a little harder, "you're sounding funny. Why don't you get up and we can get you a drink?"

"Ow, ow, fine, I give!" Link yelped, squirming. "I'm getting up! Sheesh, Zelda, you're sadistic."

"I know," she stated sweetly, giving him a saccharine smile. "Someone's got to be tough on your lazy bum."

Link grumbled, and then scratched his head. "Almost noon, you say?"

"Yes. Why?"

Link shrugged, stretching. "I've got something to do at one, I think. Going with Sheep to the movies or some such. Get out. I need to go take a shower."

"Of course. I don't want to see you naked. I think it would scar me forever." Zelda picked around the random crap thrown all across the floor and then paused at the door, smiling at Link. "I'll pull out a box of cereal for you."

"You're too kind," Link stated wryly. "Out."

&-

Seven thirty the next Saturday morning found Zelda standing outside school, leaning heavily against Link. Both were yawning largely.

"I loathe standardized testing," she stated, her voice mildly muffled by the soft black cloth of Link's faded shirt. In reply, her friend yawned, slumping against the wall next to them as they stood in line, waiting to be admitted into the school.

"Why do we even have to be here so early? Why did your mom insist we get here so early? The doors don't open until eight. Eight! That's half an hour!"

"Don't sit down," Link cautioned. "You're gonna be sitting for the next five hours. And I don't know what's up with Mom. She's gone bonkers or something."

"Or something."

They stood in a yawning silence for a while longer, the dew of the morning sparkling around on the trees and the white cement wall blocking off the school grounds from the rest of the world.

"This is gonna suck, isn't it, Link?"

"Yeah. A lot."

They both gulped.

They had had reason to be worried, Zelda thought later, looking back- almost six hours after this particular conversation, they stumbled out of the concrete school, more exhausted than they had been entering it.

"Do you have a funnel and a jar?" Link asked Zelda as they sat sprawled across the train station benches. "I intend to catch whatever it is of my brain that remains when it falls out in just a few minutes."

"Mmmmph."

"That was evil. I want to cry. Do you want to cry? God, what did you think of the essay prompt?"

"Majority rules that the SAT should be slaughtered, and yet it isn't gone yet. Majority being teenagers, of course I wanted to use that as an example for the whole "out the window it goes" thing, but I didn't." Zelda shuddered. "They'd have killed my essay, I'm sure." Her phone began to ring from where she'd stashed it in her (by now) very faded, very worn, very soft gray zip up hoodie.

"Hang on, it's Mal. I'm gonna take this." She flipped open the phone and pressed it to her ear, hoping that the brain fluids that she was sure were dribbling out didn't stain the screen or make the keypad sticky. "Hey?"

"If I set out from my house five minutes before Darmani did and I'm going sixty and he's going seventy, how long before he careens into me and we're corpses in shards of scrap metal?"

"Not funny, Malon. I just took five hours of that. Five! Do you want to be slaughtered?"

"Chill, girly," Malon stated, popping her gum into the receiver. "Actually, Lu and I are in the car right now. Do you want to come to the mall with us?"

"I would, as everywhere's having spring sales, but I'm so tired I think I'm going to collapse."

"That bad?"

"Worse," Zelda stated. "They added on sections and an essay. It was five hours of sheer and utter hell."

"Ick. Well, I'll pick you up some things from the mall, okay? And you don't have to pay me back or anything since you've bought gas for me god knows how many times, and it costs a small fortune to fill this sucker up." Zelda heard Malon slap the dashboard affectionately, as well as Lulu's soft reprimand to keep at least one hand on the wheel, especially in traffic. "So I'll pick up some things for you."

"Don't buy anything I wouldn't buy."

"Of course not, chickadee. Or at least, not much. Don't worry, I'll get you clothes. I've got Lulu here to keep me in check. Right Lulu?"

In the distance, Zelda heard Lulu: "right."

"Alright then." Zelda smiled, sighing, and then looked up as the train pulled in. "Anyway, guys, gotta go. Train's in and I'm intending to sleep the ride home."

"Okay. I'll drop the things by later today, okay girl?"

"Sounds good. See you later."

"Bye babe."

Zelda flipped her phone shut and followed Link into the train, stashing her cell in her pocket and doing her best to walk straight. Once in the carriage, she collapsed on the floor, and Link had to all but carry her home fifteen minutes later, as her legs refused to move. Much.

"I'm gonna kill you for this," Link grumbled as she yawned again. "Absolutely kill."

"Mm, I love you too, Fudgy wudgy snookie honey pooh bear asshole." Zelda batted her eyes and elbowed Link in the side, hard, causing him to hiss.

"Brat."

"Jerk." She smiled sweetly, kissing him on the cheek, causing him to turn cherry red. Teasing ensued.

Yes, the two were definitely the very best of friends.

&-

"You bought things I wouldn't buy," were the first words out of Zelda's mouth as Lulu pulled pair after pair of scandalous panties out from the bag.

"You don't have much lingerie," Malon stated, waving a black corset from Hot Topic in Zelda's face. "And in the way of sexy things, you have very little. We just decided to help you."

"Lulu, I thought you were looking out for me!"

"I was," stated the pretty black haired girl cheerfully. "I didn't let her buy any S&M things, I wouldn't let her get you the crotchless g-string, and I definitely put my foot down on the dominatrix outfit she wanted to get you."

"Thanks." Zelda watched as Lulu pulled out a red silk thong and folded it, setting it in the pile with all the other scanty panties. "Reality check, though. I'm not having any hot sex or anything any time soon."

"We know," Lulu stated. Malon grinned as she tossed a sparkly top to Zelda with a skull and cross bones on it. At least they hadn't just bought lingerie. She now had more clothes she could wear to club performances- she'd wear this skull top tonight.

"It's what's closest to the skin that counts," Malon cackled, waving a bra. "And we figured, ever since that jerk Sterling went and messed with your head, your self confidence has been a bit low. So we bought you sexy things! You don't have to wear them all the time, mind, or even most of the time. Just when you're feeling down or ugly, it'll help. Or when you're really horny, that too."

"Hmm. And what if Link goes digging through my things and finds them?"

"Tell him the truth," Lulu stated, folding up a pair of lacy boy shorts. Thank goodness she'd thought to get something Zelda was actually comfortable wearing. "Tell him that you didn't buy them. Malon and I will back you up."

"Like he'll believe it anyway." Zelda cleared her throat. "You know you guys, I really appreciate the thought, but you could have just gotten me jeans and a nice top. It's like you went and completely redid my wardrobe." Zelda picked up a opalescent negligee, eyeing it, and then eyeing the rest of the large mountain of clothes. "This must have cost a small fortune! How much did you spend, anyway?"

"Not too much. Lulu's mom gave us permission to use her credit card, you know, since she's got all those billions and billions stacked away."

"Uhn." Zelda made an indistinct noise way in the back of her throat. "Well. Wow."

"And next weekend," Lulu stated rather matter-of-factly, "we're taking you to get your prom dress. We both bought ours today."

"So we're all definitely going to prom?"

"Yup," chirped Malon, and then she glared at Zelda, throwing a string thong in her face. "And you, friend, are going to go with Link."

"Meep," Zelda squeaked, pulling the undies from where they hung off her ear. She eyed them with consideration, thinking. Link hadn't said no or yes to her prom proposition, but not because he didn't want to go, he assured her, or at least, not because he didn't want to go with her. Just because he wasn't sure he wanted to go anyway. She looked up, crumpling the underwear in her hand. She wouldn't let anything keep her from going to prom, not even Link. Nothing would get her down on prom night. Nothing would get her down ever.

"Alright," she stated with resolve. "I'll come to prom. I'll wear the things you bought me. I've needed a change lately anyway, and you're right. I do need a confidence boost."

"Perfect!" Malon jumped up and Lulu clapped her hands, smiling.

"Next week," stated the dark-haired beauty, "we're going to the spa as well, okay? Hair cuts, highlights, manicures, pedicures, massages, all on me."

Malon and Zelda cheered.

_Yeah_, Zelda thought deep within her. _I need a change. And this is my chance. New and improved Zelda, here I come._

&-

**updated****Wednesday, May 04, 2005**

**8:41 PM**

**A/N:** I know, I know. Another disjointed chapter. But with school drawing to a close, I'm tired, you're tired, we're all tired and I'm trying to get to the fun stuff, namely, Link's birthday, spring break, Sheik, so on and so forth. I PROMISE you that I'll start turning out some good chapters sometime soon. Honestly! And now I've got lots of humiliating and hilarious moments occupying my day to draw on, as I've just started taking Driver's Ed (two years too late, it might be added) with a friend of mine who regularly makes an ass of himself without intending to. Bwahahaha. So, ladies and gents, sit back and hang tight. The next chapter is LINK'S BIRTHDAY and it will own, I PROMISE!

Love y'all and see you a week from Sunday.


	27. The Dress, The Birthday, The Dream

**Twenty Seven: The Dress, The Birthday, The Dream**

Sure enough, the next weekend Zelda found herself dragged in a circuit of the mall three times in search of a dress. After four grueling hours that she didn't care to remember, Lulu had finally found her "the dress." The top was the softest shade of cloud pink Zelda could have ever imagined, a strapless satin bodice that laced up in the back and tapered to a point in the front. The skirt was a pale ivory, also satin. A pink sheer wrap went with it, and though the dress was very simple, Zelda looked like a princess in it.

Which, technically, she was anyway, so it didn't mean all that much, but hey, it was the thought that was important, right?

So Zelda left the mall after a grueling five-and-a-half hour shopping trip, and once she got home, collapsed on the couch until Link peeled her off for dinner.

&-

On the second Wednesday in March, Zelda found herself jerked from sleep by a loud whoop outside her window, almost exactly five minutes before her alarm was set to go off. Sleepily, she hit the switch anyway, and then stumbled in one of her new bras and a pair of long pajama pants to the window, pressing her face up against the cool glass. Link was down on the driveway, dancing in circles around a giant hunk of metal.

"Zelda!" he shouted, seeing her in the window. "Look! Come look at my car!"

Laughing, she pulled away from the glass and tugged on her scarlet bath robe, tying it over her stomach, and padding down to the first floor, out the kitchen door to Link's new "car".

The first words out of Zelda's words were, "what is that thing?"

"This," Link stated, running a hand covetously over the hood, "is a '94 ford bronco, baby! The car of my dreams!"

"It does seem like the kind of car you'd drive," she stated, looking it over again. It was mint green, newly repainted, and though on first sight it was hideous, Zelda found it rather growing on her already. Kind of like how Link had. Uncertainty at first, fondness skipping along on its tail.

"Go get ready for school." Link's eyes were glittering. "We're going to give her a go."

Only two words were running through Zelda's head then, and those two words were _oh dear_.

&-

Link was, astoundingly, a far better driver than Malon, which was saying something as Malon wasn't a bad driver- she just was a bit too accelerator happy, which was deadly in a hummer. But Link and his Bronco (which he had decided to name The Millennium Falcon) were reliable, zipping down the freeway at a perky sixty-five.

"You know," Zelda stated from where she was sitting shotgun, "I was a bit afraid of riding with you."

"Why?" Link checked his mirrors and moved over a lane to exit.

"Well," she chewed over her words, then spoke, "you're just a little… wacky at times. I wasn't sure if you knew how to drive well."

"Of course I know how to drive." He pulled to a stop at a light and grinned. "I can sail, too."

Zelda raised an eyebrow. "You can sail."

"Yeah. My parents own a schooner, keep it at the dock. We didn't use it last summer, as there weren't any good days for sailing, really."

"A schooner, huh?"

"Yup." The light went green and Link turned, his bronco trundling down the street towards school and the parking lot surrounding it. "It's called King of Red Lions."

Zelda nearly laughed. Clearly, Impa had done her research.

&-

School was so boring, Zelda thought, dumping her book bag underneath her work station and plopping down in her chair just before comp sci. They were, at the moment, programming Pac Man- more than once, Zelda had forced Link to help her figure out the occasional kink or fifty in her code. When it came to things like code, surprisingly, Link was a genius. It probably had something to do with all his geeky friends.

Zelda logged in and began poking around the internet, checking her email- two spam and a letter from Audrey, which she decided to read once she got home. The bell rang and Zelda shut down internet explorer, swiveling to face her teacher and where he stood at the whiteboard. He scribbled out the pseudocode for what they would be doing that particular day and set them loose. Zelda got straight to work- no sooner than she had clicked on the desktop icon for JCreator, however, did the small black MS-DOS screen pop up. Her blood ran cold.

_No. Not again..._

Hello, Zelda. It's been a long time.

Her fingers hesitated over the keyboard.

** Sorry if I seem rude, but I've got a lot of code to work on today.**

Programming Pac Man?

She paused.

** Yes. Not that it's of any importance to you, though.**

She clicked out of MS-DOS, knowing that by now it would be worthless to try and shut it down, and instead got to working on her code. Of course, she hadn't even typed in a line before the MS-DOS screen came to the front. Damn him, Zelda thought as she accidentally hit enter. He must have requested focus or something.

Of course it is of importance to me. You're very important, Zelda.

**eturn**** true;**

**Would you leave me alone? I'm trying to work.**

I'll bother you when you're done, then. I can wait.

Zelda sighed and went back to work on her code. _Goddesses, do you have it in for me or something? Do you feel the constant urge to test me? Gah. Life sucks._

Fifteen minutes later, however, Zelda had forgotten all about the little MS-DOS screen and was furiously trying to de-knot a rather infuriating mess she'd made of her code, proud to be able to state the fact that she'd been mostly successful with the debugging. Mostly.

Another forty five minutes later she was done for the day, congratulating herself as she closed down JCreator. And then the MS-DOS screen popped up.

Let's talk.

** I'd rather not.**

What a jerk. Persistence was not a virtue in cases like these.

Please? I won't bite you. I'm just curious about you now. I'm not madly in love with you or anything. At least, not like I was. I've got someone better for me now.

Zelda shivered.

**I hope she thinks so, too. I hope she knows who you are.**

Of course she does. She loves me and she says so. So let's talk. What happened to you over winter break that made you clam up so badly?

** Nothing happened. Nothing that's any of your business, anyway.**

You're not even going to ask how I was able to tell?

**I bet you're going to tell me anyway.**

You're right. See, I figured because there's this kind of ice in your eyes now. You don't smile quite so much as you used to. A lot of people think that you had a bad experience with a boy, or that maybe a loved one died, but I also see the gloves on your hands and how you tug at them. Are you going to tell me what they're for?

** I burned myself.**

And I'm the queen of England. I think the gloves tie into whatever it is that's got you so shut off. Sure you're nice and friendly and all, but you're different, too. More quiet. More thoughtful. You're introverted and pensive and jumpy, and you don't think anybody notices, but I do, Zelda. Believe me, I do.

** I thought you said you'd found someone else to stalk.**

Doesn't keep me from having an eye on potentially interesting figures.

** Bastard.**

Actually, I know my father quite well.

** I didn't mean it that way and you know it.**

And still my point remains. Are you going to tell me what's up, or am I going to have to figure it out myself?

** Okay, I'll tell you. My mom died when I was a baby and I learned some bad things about her over the break that have changed how I view things. I cut my hands in grief, and some jackass came along and messed with my head while I was in mourning. Happy?**

Someone screwed with your head? Tell me who and I'll kill him for you.

Zelda shivered. She wouldn't be surprised if this mysterious someone did.

** No.**

I don't think that's the truth anyway. There's holes in your alibi. I'll find it out, Zelda. I'll find out who you really are.

** Are you done stalking me yet?**

No.

** Too bad.**

Zelda shut down her computer and put her bag on her lap, staring at the clock. Two minutes.

_I can't tell Link. I can't show Link. It's his birthday. Nothing's wrong. Nothing happened._

One minute.

_I'm just not thinking clearly. Breathe in, Zelda. Forget it. Put on a smile. Your stalker has moved on. You're safe._

The bell rang and Zelda walked calmly from the classroom, down to the parking lot where she hopped onto the hood of Link's bronco, kicking her legs and waiting for him to show up.

Barely a minute later, the birthday boy himself sauntered up, and Zelda, unable to help herself, all but pounced on him.

"Something up?" he asked as he held her for a minute. Zelda took in a deep breath, then pulled away, beaming up at him.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BIRTHDAY BOY!"

"I think that's the first time I've ever heard you shout, Zellie"

"I love you too."

"No you don't. Now hop in. Let's get home so I can open my presents."

"Yay presents." Zelda tossed her bag in the back seat after Link unlocked the Bronco. Into shotgun she hopped, breathing deep.

"Zelda, are you sure you're feeling okay?"

"I'm fine. I just had a- a long day." She faked a yawn. Link looked at her with skepticism, then shoved the keys into the ignition and turned, causing the Bronco to rumble, wakened from its daytime nap.

"Well, home we go, home we go!" And they were off, Link in a very good mood and Zelda feeling rather queasy. All of which scared her most, though, even more than her stalker's determination to find out the truth:

_I've got someone better for me now. She loves me and she says so._

And then, from so long ago…

_Fear is love, Zelda. Realize it. Admit it. You love me. You love the way I frighten you. You love the way you fear me at night, wondering if some day, I'll sneak into your room under the cover of shadows…_

Something, Zelda was certain, was terribly, horribly wrong.

&-

Zelda hardly paid attention as Link ripped into present after present. Aside from his car, he'd gotten clothes, money, a few books, six new CDs, several games, and some new DVDs of anime, not to mention an action figure building kit.

Link laughed hard when he pulled out the "Draco Malfoy" shirt, and threw it at Zelda.

"You've got a sick sense of humor."

She grinned, slightly forced. "I know."

Link didn't notice. Impa did. Just before the birthday dinner, she called Zelda in, to help set the table.

"Something bothering you?"

"I can't hide anything from you, can I?"

Impa smiled softly as she pulled a pizza out of the oven. "Never."

Zelda sighed as she opened a cabinet to pull out six plates.

"I've just got this bad feeling, Impa. Horrible in the pit of my stomach, like something is very wrong, or is shortly about to be."

"Any reason for you to feel this way?"

"Well…" Zelda paused, debating whether or not to tell her guardian, setting down the plates one by one on the table. "It's just… this guy was sort of stalking me a while back. Nothing big, just an MS-DOS window would appear on my screen during Comp-Sci and he'd try to talk to me. He'd say the creepiest things, too, like, "fear is love, Zelda. Realize it. Admit it. You…" Zelda cut off with a shudder, unable to continue. "The words burned themselves into my brain. But after I finally opened up and told Link, it all stopped. But just today, that little black box popped up again. He said he was over me and was just curious now, and that he had someone who did love him now. Unfortunately, I can't forget what he said about fear being love…" She stopped, pulling silverware out of a drawer. "I'm worried."

"With reason. The answer will be revealed to you, though, I promise. For now, try and put these difficulties from your mind, hard as it may be. You have every reason to be worried; however, it is Link's birthday and I don't want it spoiled for him." Impa smiled. "I may be a Sheikah attendant, but first and foremost I am a mother and I want my son to be happy. Especially if there's the very real chance that, in the future, he will never be happy again." Impa looked down sadly, sighing. "Oh dear…"

"I'm sorry, Impa," Zelda apologized as she put the last fork down on the table. "I wish things weren't like this."

"As do I," she stated, and then smiled wryly. "But let's not think of this! We just need to remember that today is Link's birthday, and we need to make it fun for him. Right?"

"Right!"

Impa called in the girls, Link, and Haft, and the dinner commenced- it was Impa's masterpiece homemade black olive pizza, with a side of pasta shells and salad. It was delicious, and everybody stated so. Zelda tried to follow Impa's advice, to be pleasant and put the thoughts from her mind, and found herself enjoying the celebration a bit more. When at last she trooped up to her room after having three slices of the delicious green soccer ball cake Impa had magically whipped up, she found that her stalker was far from her mind, her brain instead filled with happiness from Link and his family.

She poked her head into Link's room to say good night, and smiled as she saw him sitting on his bed, yawning, clad in the new Yellow Submarine shirt she'd bought for him and a pair of long flannel pajama pants.

"Happy birthday, Link. I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight," he stated with a yawn. And Zelda left and went to her room, peeling off her own clothes and collapsing into bed, slipping into a deep sleep immediately.

&-

Through the fog, she could see two shadows. One was big and bulky, obviously male, the other, small, lithe, tiny. Female. The male voice spoke.

"Do you fear me?"

A tiny reply. "Yes."

"Say that you fear me. Say that you love me."

"I fear you. I love you."

Smack.

"Not good enough. Come now, don't be so shy. Let me take a look at you."

A muffled sob. "Please, don't touch me. Don't look at me."

Another smack.

"Why shouldn't I look at you? You're mine. Mine! All for the taking. You belong to me. You fear me and you love me. Do you understand?"

The reply was shaky. "I…. understand."

A growl. "Good."

The girl squeaked. "What are you doing? You're hurting me."

No reply- only the sound of ripping fabric.

Her voice grew more frantic. "Please, let go. Please, please... no, don't… please…."

"You are afraid of me."

"I love you, I love you, you're hurting me, please stop, please, no, don't…."

"Do not tell me what I can and can't do!" It was a roar. "I will do as I please with you. You tried to run and this is how you must repent. Stop struggling."

"No, please don't, I don't want…" Her words tapered away into a frantic, anguished scream.

&

**updated****9:12 PM**** central**

**Sunday, May 15, 2005**

**A/N:** In a very grumpy mood tonight so I'm keeping this short. Things, as you can tell, are about to get very interesting, so hang tight. Next update will be as soon as I can post it- probably by next Wednesday, but that's also the last day of my finals so it may be the Thursday night following. And yeah.

Sorry this always takes so long and is in such short amount. And I'd say that it's quality, not quantity, that counts, but quality isn't too great at the moment either. Forgive me this, I swear it'll be better soon.


	28. Imaginary World

**Twenty Eight: Imaginary World**

_"No, please don't, I don't want…"_

_ A piercing, resounding scream echoed in the fog._

Zelda awoke suddenly and found herself lying in her own bed back at her father's house, surrounded by frills and curtains and waterfalls of lace. Something seemed different, though- she couldn't quite place what. And how had she gotten there, anyway? Last she'd known, she'd been at the Tudors'.

She stood, putting her feet against the lushly carpeted floor. In a trance, almost, she walked to the French doors that looked out onto a beautiful balcony and drew the sheer curtains covering them. Outside, though, there was no fake lagoon pool- instead, Zelda found herself looking out onto the beautiful courtyard of a mighty white stone castle. She knew in that instant where she was.

Hyrule.

Hardly stopping to think, Zelda padded barefoot out of her room and down the lavish halls of the castle- her ancestral home. After all, so much weird crap had arisen in her life since December that randomly finding oneself in a long-gone castle seemed hardly inevitable. For a minute, Zelda was amused to think what all the other Zeldas might have said of her disrespectful attire- one of Link's soccer jerseys and a pair of yoga pants. How informal, how unlike a lady! She could practically see the women in the tapestries gasping and fainting. Or possibly not- after all, Zelda III had originally paraded as a man to guide the Hero of Time, had she not?

Yeah. Something like that.

Zelda descended the large spiral staircase that indubitably led to the anteroom, and from there wandered out to the courtyard. She wasn't sure how she'd managed to randomly appear in the castle, but however she'd done it, she had the feeling that the answer would lie in the courtyard.

Instinct was right. When Zelda stepped out into the bright sunshine, there was a pretty woman sitting on a bench staring at a bird in a tree- Zelda looked at the bird, and watched as it replayed its action like a stuck record and then flew away. The woman turned, smiling, and Zelda was floored.

"Is this a cosmic joke?"

"Not at all."

Aileen Harkinian stood from the bench, curly blond hair swept high up atop her head in a wild yet elegant bun, clad in a loose skirt and a peasant blouse, looking rather like a gypsy. She couldn't have been much older than the most recent photograph Zelda had of her, about a month before Zelda herself was born. But Aileen showed no belly, no age, and she was certainly not dead.

"Well, are you a ghost, then?"

"In a way." Aileen looked sad for a moment, and then smiled. "Let me look at you. I haven't seen you for seventeen years now."

"I thought you were dead."

The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. Aileen, however, just shrugged as she walked in a circle around her daughter. "I am. You certainly do look like a Zelda. Funny how the Zeldas always look so much alike. Your hair is lighter, though. You got that from my father, your grandfather. Poor man. Drunk himself into a hole and now he's dead."

"And so are you. But you're not a ghost?"

"No, no," Aileen stated merrily, flipping a lock of Zelda's hair and smiling. "But come sit on the bench with me. We have many things to discuss."

"How'd you get here? How'd I get here? Why are we here? This is Hyrule, isn't it? I thought Hyrule was, I don't know, all driftwood or something by now. I mean, it did go underwater, didn't it?"

"Look up," Aileen instructed gently. Zelda complied- and saw the ocean above her.

"This_ is_ a cosmic joke. It has to be."

"No, Zelda, it's not." Aileen looked very sad as she surveyed the castle courtyard. "This place is… holy, almost. Our entire land was sanctioned off by the goddesses, put on pause, if you will, for the coming of the ocean."

Zelda's stupid side spoke up. "If we're on the ocean floor, why aren't we squished? The pressure underwater is really high. And how can I breathe?"

"Magic and magic. There is no definite boundary where our pocket ends and the ocean begins. But at the same time, we are not underneath the ocean, if that makes sense. We just think we are there."

"Wait, what?"

Aileen sighed, and then smiled at her daughter.

"I'd forgotten how confused I was when my mother first brought me here. This place is a loop hole in time, a worldless place. At least, for the moment it is. Hyrule… I'm sure you know about the two different streams of time, created by our distant predecessor?"

Zelda's response was slow. "Yes…."

Aileen looked around.

"There can only be one Hyrule, as there is only one set of goddesses to watch over them. Nothing can replicate that. So as it is, Hyrule is half in one time and half in the other, and thus it belongs to neither. That is, until the time streams merge and Hyrule manifests."

"When will that be?"

Aileen looked down.

"Too soon for comfort."

Zelda nodded and sighed. She'd assumed as much. "So is that how you're here?"

"Yes," Aileen stated. "In my dying moments, I was able to transport my conscience to this world. And thus, I am dead, but I am not dead. This place is a world out of time. There is no flow. A clock would not tick here. There are only moments, like these, that comprise this place."

"But isn't a moment part of time?"

Aileen smiled mysteriously. "Borrowed time."

Just then, a beam of light shot down from the sky and landed in a small pool before the steps of the castle. Aileen clapped her hands and smiled at Zelda. "We have a visitor!"

"A visitor," she stated faintly as she watched a speck of red descending from the top of the ocean. "What sort of visitor?"

"As this place is a loophole," Aileen stated merrily, "it loops! You're about to meek Link of Outset and the King of Red Lions. He comes down and visits me. It keeps me from going crazy all by myself."

"Link of Outset. King of Red Lions. Aren't they dead and driftwood by now?"

"No. Link visits me every day in his world, which averages three times a week in this one. Not that there are weeks, really. It's complicated. But sometimes he brings the captain along, too."

"You mean his Zelda?"

"I do."

The speck of red was larger now, and Zelda could tell easily that it was a bright red boat, and inside the boat was a figure with shaggy hair clad in a loose blue top and shorts. He was three, possibly four years older than Zelda, and with him was a dark brown woman with gold hair piled high atop her head. She wore a pink shirt, blue vest, and a red bandana. Loose white clam diggers waved around her shins. Zelda gulped.

"You're going to have me talk with the pirate Zelda. Why?"

Aileen gave a shrug. "Why not? The other Zeldas show up here from time to time, as do their daughters and mothers and so on. Every woman in the line has come here before during her life- many came here once a day to commune with the goddesses. It's nice to see them. They keep me company, too." Aileen looked sad. "Sometimes I get lonely here, but it's my duty to stay until Hyrule manifests, to train you and guide you, to prepare you for the manifestation."

The boat touched down gently in the small spring in the middle of the courtyard, and out hopped Link of Outset and Captain Zelda. Young Zelda held her breath, painfully aware of her attire. How she must look…

"Aileen!" Captain Zelda splashed through the water and hopped up onto the grass of the courtyard to hug Zelda's mother. "How are you faring?"

"I'm doing well, Tetra. Hello, Link."

He looked up, shooting a sparkling grin at Aileen. "Hi."

The Captain looked at young Zelda and shot her a cocky grin. "And you must be Zelda. Please, call me Tetra. It reduces confusion."

"It's also what she's used to hearing," Link added, earning himself a smack from the hand of the captain.

"Quiet."

"Yes ma'am."

Zelda couldn't help but laugh into her hand. Tetra grinned.

"You've turned out nicely. Aileen was worried, you know. Sad. She always talked about how she regretted not being there for you… how old are you?"

"Seventeen in three months. By my world's count, anyway. I don't know how long that is here."

"I'm nineteen. Link here's eighteen."

Link looked up from a knot he was tying within the King of Red Lions' uncomplicated rigging system, nodded at Zelda once, and then looked back down. It was funny, Zelda thought as she eyed Link's tufty hair- the line of Links, though for the most part totally unrelated, looked alike. This Link, however, had larger eyes that reminded Zelda of a cat, possibly of Valoo. And there was something rough but shy about this Link, a strange oxymoron whose cause Zelda couldn't quite entirely place.

"…off in La-La land. Don't bother with him, he's sworn to never marry."

"Huh?" Zelda looked up at Tetra, cheeks reddening. "I wasn't, I swear… I was just…."

Tetra burst out laughing, and Link shot her an annoyed look.

"You're too much."

Tetra slapped her knees, and then regained her composure. "So what, pray tell, were you thinking? You were staring at Link with bug eyes."

Zelda decided that this older ancestral Zelda had to be way, way, way back in the line. She couldn't see a single of this woman's traits that were passed on to her.

"I was thinking about how he's different from the Link in my time."

"You know a Link?" Aileen yelped suddenly, then bit her lip. All eyes were on Zelda in an instant.

"Is that true?" Link asked Zelda and, dizzily, she nodded.

"Is he _the_ Link?" Tetra asked, clasping her hands together in front of her and leaning forward.

"I… I think so. He, my… my left hand reacts with his. And he looks like the descriptions in the journals of the Legendary Hero. And he looks like this Link, too."

"How do you know him?" Aileen asked, almost urgently. Zelda blinked twice, not sure how her mother would take this next bit of news:

"Dad shipped me off to live with his parents."

Aileen went pallid. "…He didn't."

"He did. I didn't get along with anyone at the house. So I went, not entirely of my own free will but pretty close to it, to the Tudors'… er… that's Link's family name. And when I got there, they were remodeling, so I had to sleep in the basement, and so did Link." Zelda grinned suddenly. "It was fun. We sat up most nights talking, listening to 80's songs."

"And his parents didn't care?"

Zelda shrugged. "Nope. Impa's the one that put us there in the first place. She knew we wouldn't do… anything….. Mom?"

Aileen was looking at Tetra, expressions inscrutable.

"You live in a house with Link and Impa?" Tetra finally asked. "Who else is there?"

"Well, there's Haft, Impa's husband, and then their twin daughters, Saria and Jayda. Link's not their biological son. They adopted him," she added, rather randomly.

Tetra looked surprised. "And Saria. I don't suppose you know a Raru?"

"No, I'm afraid I don't…"

"A Darunia?"

"I know a Darmani…"

Tetra looked at Aileen. "Legend says that Darmani was the leader of a great Goron tribe in Termina."

"He's human, though," Zelda protested. "He's a big guy, lots of muscles, very strong. Gentle as a kitten, though."

Tetra and Aileen now looked fully perplexed. Link looked thoughtful. Finally, he spoke.

"Who else do you know? Do you know of a Ruto or a Nabooru?"

"I know them both." Zelda's face twisted a little. "Ruto's my friend Lulu's little sister. Nabooru is my gym coach."

Tetra began to, astoundingly, laugh. Aileen looked like she might drop dead from shock.

"Who are your immediate friends?" Zelda's mother asked.

Zelda was beginning to feel a little nervous. Why did it matter so much?

"Well, aside from Link, my best friends are Malon and Lulu. Malon's little sister, Cremia, is cool, too. Malon's going out with Darmani and Lulu's going out with Mikau. Er, I'm in a band, and Darmani's the drummer and Mikau is the lead singer and guitarist. Um…" Zelda quailed under the inscrutable gaze of Tetra. "Am I in trouble?"

"Not with us, but you may very well be," Aileen finally stated plainly. She turned to Tetra- "do you know all those names?"

"Each and every one," Tetra affirmed. "Cremia, Darmani, and Mikau were all prominent people in Termina. Darmani, as I said, was the leader of a Goron tribe- the hero put his soul to rest. Same with Mikau. He was an icon to the Zora people, not to mention lead singer in the Indigo Go's."

"That's Lulu's Mom's old band," Zelda added, offhand. "And her mother's before it. But Lulu's mom disbanded it."

"Goddesses protect you," Tetra muttered.

"What's so important about Malon and Ruto and Saria and Impa and Nabooru, though?"

Tetra sat down on a rock. Link seated himself beside her, and, astoundingly, cleared his throat.

"The legendary hero, whose wake, likeness, and example I follow, worked with each of those people."

"Malon was a farm girl in Hyrule. Her line is still here, or part of it," Tetra stated.

"Ruto, Saria, Impa, and Nabooru were all sages who helped to seal away the…. Evil One," Tetra said. Aileen looked sad.

"And they've all reincarnated around you, or found their way to you. I knew that… that Hyrule would manifest, but I didn't think it would be so soon…."

"The Goddesses have a funny way of being unpredictable," Link stated, and went about to examining Zelda, causing her to wiggle a little under his gaze. "She resembles you, Aileen," he finally stated. "But more than that, she looks like the portrait of the sixth in the palace, except her hair isn't quite so red."

"There's portraits inside? I didn't notice." Zelda smiled a little and chewed on the inside of her lip.

"Zelda, may we see the back of your left hand?" Link asked her, an interested look on his weathered face, brown from the sun of the sea.

"Eh? Oh, yeah."

Zelda hadn't realized that she'd gone to sleep in her gauntlets. They were now as much a part of her as… oh, say, her hair. Half the time she didn't realize they were there.

Zelda unstrapped the leather ties of her left glove and peeled it off her hand, presenting her flesh to her mother, her ancestor, and a legend.

Link looked impressed. Aileen looked worried. Tetra looked surprised.

"The triangle was filled in with the royal crest?" asked the latter.

"Sheik's is filled in with a bleeding eye, um, the Sheikah symbol, I think."

"So Sheik is around you, too?" Tetra asked. In reply, Zelda nodded; Aileen then looked to her daughter, questions on her face.

"How is Sheik a part of your world?"

Zelda bit the inside of her lip- how would she possibly tell her mother that her father was remarrying? "You're not going to like it."

"Tell me anyway," Aileen compelled. "I've been stuck here for what feels like forever. I doubt much is going to surprise me."

"The news about my friends did, and the news about me being shipped away did," Zelda stated dourly, and then sighed. "Dad's marrying Sheik's mom."

"I see." Aileen looked a little sad, but then she shook it off. "I'd hoped he wouldn't be lonely the rest of your life, for his sake. And who, pray tell, might Sheik's mother be?"

"Madame Aroma Dotour."

Tetra burst out laughing and fell backwards off the rock she'd been sitting on. Link reached down and helped her back up.

"The wife of the mayor of Clock town, in Termina," she offered, by way of giggled explanation. "Coincidence and fate are cruel things."

Link looked at Tetra, and stood suddenly.

"We're toying with the fabric of time," he said. "We need to go soon."

"Of course," Tetra replied. And then, to Zelda: "I hope you don't mind our abrupt departure. That's just the way things are here."

"It's okay," Zelda stated, offhand. "I mean, I understand. Just come back some time."

"Of course." Tetra smiled.

Link nodded at Zelda and Aileen as he hopped into the boat, helping Tetra in behind him. "Zelda, Aileen. Goddesses be with you."

"And with you," Aileen called to him as the King of Red Lions spun to the top of the sea and vanished. Mother turned to daughter then and sighed.

"I have much to teach you. Your tenure here must and will be short, so come. We must get to work right away. I had forgotten how little you know."

"Mom, I have a question," Zelda asked as she followed her mother into the castle. Aileen stopped abruptly on the word "Mom", but then continued walking.

"Yes?" Her voice sounded thick.

Zelda felt a little awkward, but spoke her mind anyway.

"Tetra and Link are obviously… close. Why didn't they marry and break the curse?"

"They couldn't. She was still a princess… oh, Zelda, it's complicated. But Link swore off marriage when he learned that Tetra would have to continue the line- the _noble_ line."

"Oh." A beat of silence. And then- "can I ask you another question?"

"Of course."

Aileen was leading the way through the labrynthine castle, full of so many twists and turns that Zelda was thoroughly lost. This wouldn't deter her, however. She wouldn't let it.

"Tetra and Link go on to found a new Hyrule, I know. What happened to it?"

"We're standing in it. They found juncture in the time stream and crossed over and found a place where Hyrule was able to manifest, but as it was, it was not able to be there for more than… oh, say, three hundred years, I believe."

"Three hundred years?"

"Yes." Aileen gave a nod, and then smiled over her shoulder at her daughter. "It may seem like a long time to you, but really, it's not."

"So I have another question. Why is Hyrule going to manifest again, after all this time? People won't take well to a feudal world randomly reappearing."

"You need to understand this, Zelda," Aileen stated as they rounded another corner. "Hyrule is a place of magic, and it chooses its own fate. I do believe, however, that the goddesses are guiding the outcome of all the worlds. The two time lines will collide, reunite, and Hyrule will be able to fully reincarnate. See, it won't be torn between two places at once. So first and foremost, it must manifest for this reason. And people will take to it. They'll be hypnotized by it. You are the legal heir- it's in writing, believe me- so you may do with the whole land as you see fit. The goddesses will be behind you no matter what, I am sure. But… oh, Zelda, our world is so complicated. I'm not even half sure myself of what will happen." Aileen gave a little sad smile as she stopped before a set of great wooden doors. "I almost wish you could rule here, like a real queen. But with the way the world is, that could never happen."

"Maybe I'll be able to, somehow," Zelda replied softly, and then watched as her mother pushed open the great wooden doors. "Is this the library?"

"No," Aileen stated as she walked in to stand amongst the shelves and shelves and shelves of the thousands upon thousands of well kept books. "This is obviously the armory."

Laughing as she settled down for a long day of study, Zelda realized that she and her mother really _were_ alike.

&-

Zelda was sitting out on a balcony, just outside a beautiful set of glass and iron-wrought windows, reading a book. The sun was going down on the ocean high above, sending a beautiful, shimmering red light across the castle and the countryside surrounding it. Zelda had asked her mother if there was any way she could go about the countryside later- Aileen had responded with a yes, but to be careful. Not for monsters, she'd added, but for the people.

All the inhabitants of the countryside were frozen.

As it was, however, Zelda was sitting out on the balcony, a thick tome of history in her lap, when the strangest thing began to happen.

Images of a sky began flickering overhead, a stormy sky. Zelda responded to it as calmly as she could, given the situation- she dog-eared a page, walked inside, closed the beautiful window-doors, and promptly flipped out.

"MOM!" she yelled, dashing wildly down the halls. "SOMETHING WEIRD IS HAPPENING!"

"We're going through time," Aileen replied calmly, sticking her head out from behind a tapestry, nearly frightening Zelda to death. "I thought I'd come find you, let you know. Let's go back to the chamber you were just in- you can see the history of our world for yourself. Come on," she added, tugging on a reluctant Zelda's arm. "You're going to meet another of your ancestors."

"Oh….. my…."

Zelda found herself hauled back to the room she'd just dashed out of, and watched as the stormy sky outside darkened. For there was no doubt in Zelda's mind now that they weren't underwater. And then she realized that she was partially transparent.

"Mom……"

"Relax. This world is only manifesting. We won't be here for long."

"Mom, how are we manifesting? Aren't you going to die?"

Aileen chuckled. "No, I'm not. We're manifesting years and years in the past, on the other time stream."

"In old Hyrule? Tetra and Link's Hyrule that they founded?"

Aileen shook her head. Zelda felt rather faint.

"But… so we're… not in the medieval age?"

"In a way, yes, in a way, no. Remember, we're in a loophole, not part of either world. The loophole in time is passing by the secondary time stream and manifesting. Remember, we're half on, half off."

"But I thought time was like rivers."

Aileen laughed again. "No. If anything, time is like a four-dimensional whirlpool. It's something unexpected and impossible. Now watch."

Slowly, a shadow appeared by the window Zelda had been sitting just outside moments ago. A flash of lightning lit up the sky outside, and the back of the cloak was illuminated- gray stitching, the bleeding eye of the Sheikah. The cloaked figure turned, and Zelda immediately saw that almost an exact reflection of herself was staring back.

"Aileen," said the figure softly. "I can see you this night."

"Just passing by, highness." Aileen swept a graceful curtsy and Zelda clumsily imitated her in her awkward dress that Aileen had found her in one closet.

"Your daughter is with you?" The cloaked princess walked forward to stand before Zelda. Zelda noticed that she looked a little fizzy, a little fuzzy, like a bad projection.

"I'm Zelda XXII, majesty," she stuttered. The princess walked to stand before Zelda, and then pulled the cowl of her hood back, revealing her face.

"You look just like me," the princess said to Zelda.

"Your hair has more red in it, sixth," Aileen observed, offhand. The princess turned her eyes on Aileen and then smiled.

"I suppose so. Aileen, I am frightened." The last four words were said with such a shift in tone that Zelda felt chills creep up her spine. "This storm is the greatest storm we've ever seen. There are dragons flying around, restless. I am afraid. Is… is the holy land to manifest soon in your time?"

"We believe so," Aileen affirmed. "Why?"

"I… am afraid that it is causing instability in all the realms. I'm not sure what to do. I'm uncertain."

"Stay strong, sixth," Aileen offered. "You and your world will be fine, I'm certain."

Zelda looked into the eyes of the princess, almost exact mirrors of her own, save that the princess's eyes were light blue, and Zelda's were almost violet. But this young woman could not have been much older than Zelda, perhaps eighteen, and she was the princess of a land and afraid.

It hit Zelda like a bolt of lightning- _that's going to be me in several months_.

And then, suddenly and in total shock, Zelda fainted, underneath the storming sky of an imaginary world.

&-

**uploaded: 11:01 PM**

**Wednesday, May 25, 2005**

**A/N:** Manohmanohman am I pooped. Last day of school was today... but alas! No reprieve for the weary. I'm starting college summer classes for extra credits... or rather, I started on Monday. So no real break until July. ( Aww. No real news to report otherwise, except that this story seems to be getting a little soap-operatic. So I've got a real treat in for you guys next time that I've been wanting to do for a long time- a dream that Zelda has, and not, it is not prophetic. It's going to be an assortment of all the stupid ideas for fic events that pop into my head, starting with a Van Halen musical, with Link singing, of course. So that's what you have to look forward to!

Until then!


	29. The Dream

**Twenty Nine: The Dream**

_(quick clarification for the music part: Only Link's words matter. The italics are sung lyrics, the plain are spoken by the lead singer of Van Halen. The name of this song is "Hot For Teacher". Enjoy!)_

Somewhere in the background, there was the heavy beat of drums. Funny, Zelda thought. It sounded like the engine of a bus…

She walked down the halls of the high school. It was the first day, and she was the new teacher. Funny that she should be hired to teach when she'd never even been to school.. oh well.

A guitar began to wail as Zelda stepped into the classroom, looking around. All around was the sound of chatter, rustling papers, laughter. And then out of a distant corner, she heard:

"Oh, wow, man, I said  
Wait a second, man  
What do you think the teacher's gonna look like this year?"

And then Zelda heard a crude, cursing exclamation. She rolled her eyes and set down her briefcase on the desk, preparing for the first difficult day of class. And that was when the speaker stood up.

It was Link, Zelda noted dimly. What was he doing in her class? Last she'd seen, he was off trying to save the world from demon chickens, back when they lived together as children in Cherry Lawn. And Link wasn't young enough to be in high school- he was at least three years older than her. That was far too old for her class.

And then he began to sing with the guitar and drums in the background, and began to dance, too. Now this was downright strange to Zelda, as Link had always told her that dancing was obviously for stoned penguins. But that was back on the farm when they were growing up together. And still: why was Link in her class? She began to tell him to sit down, but he interrupted her.

_"-T-teacher stop that screamin', Teacher don't you see?_" He did a little spin and leaned back, tugging on his shirt as he smirked at Zelda. "_Don't wanna be no uptown fool_."

"Link," she began to protest, but he cut her off by jumping onto one of the desks.

"_Maybe I should go to hel_l," he jumped to the next desk, just in front of Zelda, "_But I am doing well_," he smirked and put his face in hers, his hot breath streaming across her cheek, "…_and Teacher needs to see me after school._"

He jumped off the desk and began to eye Zelda raucously as he walked in a circle around her, stating musically, "_I think of all the education that I've missed_," the guitar hit four sharp ascending notes as Link yanked Zelda to him, "_but then my homework was never quite like this_!" And then he was off, dancing down the aisles and leaving Zelda gasping, from anger or infatuation she wasn't sure.

"_I've got it bad, got it bad, got it bad_," Link continued, licking his lips. "_I'm hot for teacher_."

"Link, sit down this instant or I'll…"

"_I've got it bad, _so_ bad_," he howled, "_I'm hot for teacher_…."

"Link, I'm warning you…"

He dropped like a rock into his seat and put his chin in his hand, looking bored and as though nothing had ever happened. Zelda cleared her throat.

"Ahem. Welcome, class, to…"

"Hey, I heard you missed us! We're back!"

Zelda ignored him. "…to introduction to medieval mythology…"

"I brought my pencil!"

Zelda sighed. "…I am you teacher, Miss Harkinian…"

"Gimmie something to write on, man!"

Zelda whirled. "Link, would you shut up?"

"Woah," he stated blankly, and then fired a paper wasp at her, jumping up.

"_I heard about your lessons, but lessons are so cold_," he sang. He leered at her as he whirled past a poster of Elvis. "_I didn't know about this school. Little girl from Cherry Lawn, how can you be so bold?"_

"Link, sit…"

"_How did you know that golden rule_?"

"What golden rule? Link, I'm trying to teach…"

"_I think of all the education that I've missed_," he said again, sliding up to her on his knees, "_but then my homework was never quite like this_!" He stood, beginning to dance, and the rest of the class got up and began to dance with him, reminding Zelda vaguely of a bad Broadway show as they whirled through a horribly coreographed routine.

"_I've got it bad, got it bad, got it bad, I'm hot for teacher_!" He pulled her to him as though she were a dance partner and ran his hands down her side. "_I've got it bad, so bad! I'm hot for teacher_!"

He did a cartwheel over the desks and sat down, as did the rest of the class, and there was silence, save for the crazed guitar riff in the background, which "teacher" ignored. Zelda began her careful orientation, and talked through most of the period. Astoundingly, there was silence the whole time. Perhaps Link had decided to be nice. Dubious, Zelda declared to herself- he was probably planning something.

She was right.

She heard the ominous musical theme and knew she was in for it as Link raised his hand and then opened his mouth- "aw, man, I think the clock is slow."

"Shut up dude, you were late," said Link's friend, who Zelda didn't recognize. Link looked at his friend, astounded.

"I don't feel tardy."

The bell rang and everybody stood up, mumbling and collecting their papers, leaving the room. As they exited, Link howled "class dismissed!"

He was on Zelda in a second once they were alone. "_Ooh yeah! I've got it bad, got it bad, got it bad, I'm hot for teacher._" He pushed her up against her desk, leaving Zelda powerless. She couldn't fight back. But, a voice said deep within her, she probably wouldn't if she could anyway.

Wait a second, this was Link! Her old friend, Link, the slayer of demon chickens! What was wrong with him?

"_Got it bad, got it bad, got it bad, I'm hot for teacher_," he repeated, pressing Zelda all the way against her desk.

"Get off me, Link," Zelda stated. He ignored her.

"_Ooh! Oh yes, I'm hot_!"

"Link, get off me. Now."

"_Oh yes I'm hot!_"

"Link," she yelled, wrenching one of her arms out from underneath him and slapping him smartly across the face. "Get off."

"Oh my god!"

As the guitar hit five last long notes, Zelda slapped Link again, pushed him out the door, slammed it in his face, whirled the lock in the key, and sank down against the cool wood, slamming her head back against the door as the song ended.

"Link," she asked softly, "what's happened to you?"

&-

It was after her disastrous first day and Zelda was sitting in the library, staring at something on the wall that looked like a stained glass window with pirates on it, but the librarian had told her it was a book. So she stared at the light floating in through the book in fascination, wishing that she could reach it And yet… it was so far away.

Link sauntered over out of nowhere. Zelda ignored him.

"Sour about yesterday, are we?"

"Go away, Link."

He wryly noted with his impossible blue eyes where she was looking, and focused on the stained glass himself. "Sure you don't need my help reaching that window up there?"

"The librarian told me it was a book."

"Well, the librarian told you wrong. Do you want me to give you a boost?"

"You're going to look up my skirt." She was wearing pants.

"You're wearing pants. And I won't look up, I promise. I've been wanting to see what's behind that window myself, actually," he stated, obviously thinking deeply. "Now I just have someone to go with me." He turned to Zelda, grinning and holding his hand out. "Wanna go?"

This was a little more like the Link Zelda knew, or had known so long ago. But could he really be trusted? Yes, her heart told her. He could be trusted.

"Sure." She took his hand and he boosted her up to the window. She opened the casement, and saw through it another land. And then suddenly she was falling, falling, falling…..

&-

The first thing that she noted was a pair of blood red eyes. This fact was bypassed, however, by the feel of strong arms around her. Link must be wearing contacts. And he must have caught her when she fell through that strange window. Relief flooded her. Thank goodness they were both alright!

"Link, where are we?"

"I'm not Link."

"Yes you are. I know you are. Your arms are just like Link's."

"I'm not Link. My physique is based off of his image, or how you thought it might be. I'm not Link."

"Stop lying." Zelda was beginning to feel grumpy. "You obviously are Link. Who else could you be?"

"I am your loyal subject, highness," said the voice, and Zelda noticed that it wasn't like Link's voice so much at all- it was deeper, darker, jaded, a lethal river: it carried an undercurrent that spoke of anguish and eternal wisdom.

"Who are you?" Zelda looked up, the feel of arms around her alien and yet safe, and saw those blood red eyes again, eyes that mirrored her, and yet mirrored so much more.

"I think you know," he stated softly.

"Sheik," Zelda replied quietly. "You're… you're here?"

"I am always with you wherever you go, majesty," he said with a bow. "I have sworn my eternal allegiance to your mother and yourself. I do not leave you when you are in trouble."

"You're not acting like you, Sheik."

Sheik shrugged. "Merely because I have not yet awakened, highness. Come, they're waiting for you at the palace."

Those red eyes made her feel so strange, they were piercing and glowing and they never left her. Somehow, though, Zelda didn't want them to. She never wanted his eyes off her, because she knew that even with that uncomfortable ruby gaze on her, she would always be safe. Always. And if she were in those strong arms, she'd never have anything to worry about.

She knew him, inside and out- of this Zelda was certain. Sheik wasn't her creation, and yet he was still as much a part of herself as an arm or a leg. He was necessary: she couldn't live without him. She spoke then, suddenly, blurting her thoughts out in almost the exact words. "I couldn't live without you, Sheik."

A pained look crossed his face. "Don't say that, highness."

"Why not, Sheik?" Zelda clung to him, her fingers twining into the soft, tight fabric of his cat suit. His eyes searched hers for a moment as his bandaged hands came up to hers, and then he disengaged her from his clothing.

"You tempt the fates of things that can never be," he stated simply, and then whirled. "Come. They await you at the palace."

&-

"Mother, I'm confused," Zelda complained as she laid with her head in her mother's lap. They were sitting underneath the pink blossoms of a cherry tree, even though cherry trees were definitely not native to Hyrule. Still, though, there was something eternally relaxing about the pink blossoms.

"Oh?" Aileen ran her hands through her daughter's hair, braiding it carefully. "And what, pray tell, are you confused about?"

"My shadow," Zelda stated plainly. "As much a part of myself as I am, and possibly even more- for even when I am dead, the shadow will be wrapped around my bones in the grave."

"I see." Zelda's mother continued to braid her daughter's hair, and then spoke. "Have you heard the legend of Narcissus?"

"Mmm," Zelda sighed, thinking. "Wasn't he the man who fell in love with his own reflection?"

"And wasted away," Aileen confirmed. "For want of his own reflection. Do you know why it was that he fell in love with his image?"

"Why?" Zelda asked, curious.

"Because he felt that he knew the face, knew what laid behind it. And he did know the face, as it was himself."

"Mmmhm…"

"Don't waste away for want of your own reflection, daughter," Aileen stated simply as she tucked a flower into her beloved child's hair. "It will only bring destruction."

"I won't, Mother," Zelda stated sleepily. "I promise."

"Attack!" a guard rushed into the courtyard, startling both Zelda and Aileen. Except, looking at the woman who had a moment ago been Aileen, Zelda saw an aging queen, a portrait she'd recognized that had been painted not long before Zelda III's startling premature death. And then Zelda knew herself that she was sitting in the courtyard with her soul-mother, in a sense; she was with the woman who had created the other half of herself, the other half of the queen, and yet the other half of the princess. Zelda gulped as Sheik swooped from nowhere, an arm encircling Zelda's waist.

"Sheik, hide my daughter," the queen stated regally. "I shall lead the troops to battle in the stead of the king."

"My lady, I will join you," Sheik said. "I will see her into the care of a young knight who yet cannot ride to battle, as his wrist is broken and he can hold no blade."

"See it done," the third Zelda, most famous queen of all commanded, and then turned to her soldier- "lead me to the armory."

"Mother!" Zelda howled. "Mother, please…"

"I love you, Zelda. I will return from this battle, I promise you. It is not yet my time to join the legendary hero in the realm of the goddesses."

"Please mother, come back!"

"I will!"

Sheik carried Zelda away, swift and silent as a shadow, leaping through the palace with alarming speed. All the while, Zelda sobbed inconsolably on Sheik's shoulder- she feared that, despite what her mother said, the queen would not return. She feared that she would never see her mother again.

"Ho, young knight!" Sheik hailed the angry-looking young man- or at least, Zelda assumed he was angry looking from the waves of anger he radiated. She couldn't see much, as her world was blurred by tears of sorrow. "I have for you a task of the highest importance. Speed her grace away, hide her, spirit her far beyond the reaches of the dark one. The queen will live through the day, of this I am certain, but the castle will fall soon."

"Give me but a minute and it will be done," stated the knight. Through blurred eyes, Zelda caught a glimpse of wheat gold and green and shocking bright blue.

"Hurry, knight. The fate of the royal line rests upon your shoulders."

"And what do you do, shadow warrior?"

"I stay with the queen, as is my duty."

"Come quickly, princess," said the knight, and suddenly Sheik was gone. Drying her eyes of her tears, Zelda allowed herself to be pulled onto the back of an unassuming horse and hauled quickly away from the castle, out behind the lines of battle and to the forest.

"I fear it is the dark lord's return," Zelda stated into the back of the knight, though she didn't know why. "My mother sealed him in the sacred realm long ago with the hero of time- and immediately afterwards, the hero departed our world forever without a trace. Mother said she sent him to the place that would make him happiest, and that she would not be surprised if he went directly to the right hand of the goddesses themselves. I know she loved him, too, as much as she loves Sheik, who is a shadow of both her soul and my own. And yet she married my father. Is our line cursed, knight? Are you as afraid as I am?"

"Everything will be fine, princess. Even if the dark lord has broken the seal of the sacred realm, we are protected by the goddesses. Sleep- our destination is a while yet."

And Zelda did.

&-

She awoke on a soft bed in a dim room. There was a tiny dying fire in the fireplace, and then a flickering candle on the squat circular wooden table in the center of the small room. There was a figure sitting at the small table, hunched over the small candle. His back was to Zelda. Slowly, Zelda sat up, allowing the sheets to slide off her. She was still in her over-ornamental palatial garb of the day before.

"Awake, highness?" asked the figure, and Zelda was reminded of waves crashing against the shore as he spoke. She peered at him through the gloom, but shadows hid his eyes.

"I am. Where are we?"

"My father's house. You'll be safe here from Ganon's hoards. We're deep in the center of the lost woods. Though it is small, this cabin is one of the safest places in Hyrule. My father took great care in this house and its defenses."

"Defenses?" Zelda was interested now. She swung her feet out of bed, touching them to the wooden floor.

"You won't be able to see them," said the knight. "Or the really strong ones, anyway."

"Am I….?"

"There is no malice in your heart," said the knight. "You are safe here, and protected by this forest."

"I see…"

"Would you like me to show you where the spring is? You can bathe and change into clothes that are better suited for this place. That skirt will snag on brambles."

"I… suppose, yes. Show me to the spring." Zelda didn't want to know how long she might be at the cabin with such cold company- possibly forever. She hoped not.

"Come, highness." The knight stood and faced her, and yet Zelda still could not see his face- it was too dim in the cabin.

"Knight, why is it so dark in here? I assume it is daylight outside?"

"It is just before dawn, highness. Our path will be well lit for us, however."

"How?" Zelda asked. Though she couldn't see him, Zelda heard the knight's smile as he took her hand and led her across the small cabin and out the door.

"See for yourself."

And see she did- hundreds of glowing lights flowed through the air, whirling, twirling, swirling, buoyed by the bubbling eddies of the air, the sea of baubles stretching forever into the woods in either direction. Zelda looked about in awe. It was the most beautiful sight she'd ever seen.

"What are they?"

"Fairies," explained the knight, tugging on Zelda's hand and leading her through the woods. "Protectors of the forest. These beings will watch over you and ascertain that you come to no harm."

"I see."

Zelda allowed the knight to lead her along by the hand through the forest, smiling as fairies landed on him, covering his body. The knight led her around a thick grove of trees to a beautiful bubbling spring, lit by a pale blue glow from the bottom, illuminating the pristine rocks. There were, astoundingly, no fish in the pool. It was as though it was sacred, sanctioned off for life, and Zelda's body within the water would be a sacrilege of such a beautiful place. The knight, however, apparently did not share these thoughts- he pointed to a flat rock behind them, just out of view from the spring but screened from the cabin by trees: "leave your clothes on that rock. I'll bring you something else to wear, and take your things and wash them for you. Bathe as long as you'd like- there is little to do here except wait, so take what simple pleasures you can."

The knight turned and left her. Zelda realized that she still hadn't seen his face well. She watched his fairy-covered back as it made its way around trees and out of sight, and then began to strip off her clothes, only to find that she, too, was covered in fairies. Zelda laughed, shaking them off her, and stepped out of her clothes and into the cool spring, diffusing the fairies from where they'd attached to her hair.

It was total bliss, heaven on earth to Zelda as she soaked. The water was cool, but not cold- a soft, sweet tepid, flowing, almost the same temperature as the gentle morning air. Her muscles unwound as she relaxed into the spring.

&-

She was walking back to the cabin, dressed in a soft, loose brown tunic and brown leather jerkin, dripping hair tied out of her way by a leather thong she'd found with her clothing on the rock. Fairies were settling all over her as the sun rose, and Zelda noticed that their presence was distinctly comforting. Fairies…

She entered the tiny cabin, only to find herself standing in a temple. She turned back for the door, thinking she'd taken a wrong turn, only to find that there was no door. Zelda turned back around to face a bent old woman.

"You must learn to love to break the curse, child."

"Curse? What curse?"

But then the old lady was gone and everything was dark. Somewhere far off in the distance, Zelda heard a worried voice- "highness, highness, please wake up… please, highness, wake up… you must wake up."

She struggled for the surface of the water of her mind, fought for that beautiful voice. And then she broke through, finding herself in her body, and slowly opened her eyes to see the most handsome and worried face above her that she could ever imagine.

"Link?" she asked slowly. The knight's eyes widened. In a second, Zelda had latched onto him.

"Link, I was so scared! We went through the window and I found myself in a strange place, and there was a man named Sheik who is supposed to be a part of me, but he frightened me, Link, and then I forgot who I was except for I thought I was a princess, and there was a queen, and a battle, and then a strange knight…"

"How do you know my name?" his voice sounded choked, as though there was a lump in his throat. "Highness, how do you know my name?"

"Zelda," she whispered quietly. "Please, call me Zelda. Link, don't tell me you don't remember… we were at school, but you were being awful and disrupting my class, and then we went through the window in the library, only the librarian told me it was a book…"

"Zelda…"

"Link."

"Zelda."

"Link!" Zelda clutched tightly to him. "We have to get out of here!"

"I don't know how, Zelda. I don't know how we can get out and get back to our world…"

Zelda looked up at him, tears shimmering in her eyes. His face was determined- "I'll protect you though, Zelda. I'll keep you safe."

"Thank you, Link."

They remained sitting together like that, and then Zelda turned to Link again, looking up at his distant eyes.

"You said this was your father's house. Who was your father, Link?"

"A vanquished hero," he replied. "Battered, defeated, broken. I was the result of his single coupling with a whore. Nine months after that night, he found me on his doorstep, and raised me until I was six. Then he died, and I left for the castle to train to be a knight."

"But what about the other world?"

"You were the princess of the castle, and sometimes we would play together. Then one day, we found a window and thought it would be fun to see what was behind it. And then we were in class. And then we were back here." His countenance was puzzled, perplexed- "I don't understand it."

"Neither do I. Link, just don't let go of me. Maybe we'll be fine that way."

"I won't let go of you, Zelda." He gazed into her eyes, his own sparkling blue eyes intense. "I promise."

"I trust you," she murmured, and their faces came together slowly, slowly, slowly…

The kiss sparked passion all throughout Zelda's body, and tentatively, she wrapped her arms around Link's neck. Something hard hit Zelda's side and she looked down suddenly and saw Link's right hand in a splint.

"What happened?"

"I broke it my wrist in my fall through the window," he stated, and gently tipped her head back to him with the fingertips of his left hand, warm digits trailing across her skin . "Don't worry about it. It doesn't hurt any more…"

As they are about the kiss again, the fairies began screaming all around them as a dark black shadow flowed over the land like rolling dark water, engulfing both Link and Zelda.

Zelda was screaming then, too, as Link was torn away from her, shouting his name frantically: "Link! Link!". And then the screaming was all around her, outside her ears and inside her mind as she was sucked underneath the shadows, drowning in her own nightmare.

And then she woke up.

&-

**uploaded****Sunday, June 05, 2005**

**10:43 PM**

**A/N:** Oookay! A little strange, I know, but I wanted to do some weird things. For those of you who were sorely let down by this chapter, my most sincere apologies. I'm going to try and go back to the weekly updating thing, as I'm well on my way with the next few chapters, but this may not be possible. We'll see. So for those of you who want the deeper synopsis of that dream, here it is.

Zelda is feeling confused about the academic(teaching), musical(Van Halen), and even romantic(Link) aspects of her life. Link is an enigma to her in a complicated world- his behavior never ceases to confuse her and astound her, and she is uncertain how she should feel because of the many different faces he shows her. When Zelda learned about the Triforce and her heritage, she was sucked into a world of nightmares, distracting her from all else and making her forget herself, falling in love with the first set of strong arms that catches her- in the dream, Sheik, obviously, but in her life, it was Sterling. The comfort that was provided lulled Zelda into a false sense of security, causing her to act rashly. Furthermore, Zelda's newfound bond with Sheik serves to boggle her brain, mostly subconsciously as there have been few real encounters between the two as of yet in the story.

The woman who appeared in the dream is a resonation of Zelda III, or the Zelda from Ocarina of Time (but NOT Majora's Mask). This particular segment of the dream takes place roughly on the alternate timeline, after Link has been sent back in the past. Link does not exist in this world, or didn't for a long while. This actually ties in with a bit of story history: the Hero of Time "vanished" from the land of Hyrule, and thus it was able to be conquered by Ganondorf, but where he went was to the other timeline in the hopes of finding Zelda and making her his wife. Zelda, however, had just married, and the curse was placed upon all of the descendants (in BOTH times) of Link and Zelda. The embodiment of this curse is the blackness that swallows Link and Zelda, the horrors of the past that keep them apart.

To jump back a little because I jumped ahead to the end, the battle is, of course, Ganondorf's conquering Hyrule. I say that on the other timeline, he engaged in conquest and subjugated all of Hyrule, and then destroyed it before hopping through the portal to the other time and flooding that particular Hyrule. Complicated, yes. Very. But that's what happens.

Link DID have a son in the alternate world, as I said: his sole night that he spent in another woman's bed (just after he found out about Zelda, actually, and he was very upset) resulted in his son, who mysteriously vanished during Ganondorf's first conquest of the castle of Alternate Hyrule and never reappeared. In actuality, he was shot down by goblins. In the dream, however… well, you know.

The Lost Woods is hope, as are all the fairies. Really, this particular piece of the dream puzzle is Zelda's remorse, then awe, then rebirth and contentment. Up until the shadow (else wise known as the curse on all the Zeldas and Links) tears them apart, that is, and here's my reasoning on why the curse tears them apart: Zelda and Link can't break the curse until they discover themselves.

Lastly, the old woman in the temple. This isn't entirely a dream, actually- more a prophetic message that Zelda won't fully realize for a long while yet (sorry, people). The old woman is Zelda III's restless spirit waiting for absolution in the form of the curse being broken. The temple Zelda finds herself in is the Temple of Time, actually before the altar of time. This won't be realized for a while yet, either, but when Zelda does discover all these things it will be a very moving scene.

I think I've covered everything. I know there are some other loose ends in other chapters, but I'm going to explain those later. If I missed anything or you have questions, drop me a line and I'll answer it in the next update for everybody else.

Until then!


	30. Poison Kiss

**Thirty: Poison Kiss**

Zelda awoke sobbing, choking on her own tears. She could still remember the feel of Link's lips on hers, and then the feeling of ice as the shadows engulfed her. Weeping, she stumbled out of her bed and wandered blindly through the castle, down a staircase and into the courtyard where she sat down on a bench crying.

Aileen appeared in an instant with an arm around her daughter. "Zelda, what's wrong?"

"I had a bad dream," she sobbed. Aileen stroked her beloved daughter's hair, holding her tight.

"Would you like to tell me about it?" Zelda's mother asked, and in a moment, words were bubbling from sniffling Zelda.

"First I dreamed I was a teacher and Link was singing Van Halen's 'Hot for Teacher' and he wouldn't cooperate, and then I ran into him at a library and we decided to see what was behind a book, except it was really a window, and we fell through into another world, and it was like Hyrule, and the Third was there and so was Sheik, except I thought I was in love with Sheik and I said so and he got mad at me, and then there was a battle and the Third and Sheik sent me away with a knight with a broken wrist, and we wound up in a safe house in the lost woods, and then I went to have a bath and there were fairies everywhere and then I went back to the safe house, except it was a temple, and there was an old lady who told me that I needed to learn to love to break the curse, and then after that I was unconscious on the ground and the knight was trying to wake me up, but the knight was Link and we both remembered how we'd gotten to the weird world, and we tried to figure out a way out but we couldn't, so he promised to protect me and then he kissed me, and all the fairies started screaming and a black shadow came out of nowhere and swallowed us and then I woke up," she wailed. "And it was scary."

"Oh Zelda," said Aileen, hugging her daughter. "I'm sorry you had a bad dream… it must have been from shock. There are still a few more hours before we think the sun comes up… I think you should go back to bed. In the morning I'll make you breakfast, and then we'll learn some more and I'll teach you how to switch between the two worlds. Would you like that?"

Zelda sniffled. "Yeah." She then hugger her mother tightly and thanked her. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up," Zelda apologized. Aileen waved her hand with a smile, dismissing Zelda's apology.

"I don't sleep much anymore anyway. Ever since I realized I don't even need it, I've taken to staying up all night and reading instead. After all, when I return to my body, it won't be especially important that my being is rested, as I'll die."

"Oh, Mom…" Zelda clutched to her mother. "I wish that you didn't…"

"I know, but that's the plan that the goddesses had for me, and I just have to accept it. At least we were able to spend some time together, and we have a while yet together. I don't expect Hylia to remerge for another few months in your world, so we have time."

"Yes," Zelda agreed, standing and allowing Aileen to lead her back towards her room. "We have time."

&-

When Zelda came to the next morning, she felt better and most of the remnants of her stirring and frightening dream were gone. Aileen explained her nightmare away as stress- Zelda had, after all, found herself plopped down in the middle of a loophole in time with no previous warning. Yawning, Zelda pushed herself out of bed, still in the stiff garb of the day before, and gladly shed it for a softer, simpler gown that fit her like a second skin. Sleepily, Zelda opted against slippers and padded barefoot through the castle with its plush carpets and rugs and many tapestries and paintings, this time taking note of her surroundings, trying not to get lost.

Aileen was sitting in the great hall, a steaming plate of pancakes in front of her. And it struck Zelda-

"Where does the food come from?"

"The women bring it when they visit. I prepare it, aided by magic because I hate cooking. Good morning. Feeling better?"

"Yeah." Zelda rubbed her forehead, and then sat down across from her mother. Instantly, a plate appeared before her. Zelda nodded, impressed.

"Do I get to learn to do that?"

"Someday, perhaps. It's not my job to teach you magic, however."

"Then whose?"

"Impa's." Aileen sipped her tea, and Zelda knew that that was the end of the conversation. How Aileen was so sure of this, Zelda didn't know, but she didn't dare to ask. If there was one thing she'd heard over and over again, it was that, for all Aileen's gentleness she had an indomitable will of steel.

Instead, Zelda began to dig in to her pancakes. "What's today?"

"More learning," Aileen stated simply. "As much as we can cram into your head."

&-

That night, Zelda's head was indeed full of facts, but not school facts- facts that she was most certainly _not_going to forget. Aileen was smiling sadly as she stood back from her daughter, who was standing in the center of the spring in the courtyard, on a small stepping stone, clad in her pajamas, the clothes she'd appeared in Hyrule in.

"Are you ready?" Aileen asked her daughter. "Remember, you must come back each night before you go to sleep so that I can teach you."

"I'll come back whenever I can," Zelda replied, her throat thick. "I promise."

"Good." Aileen smiled at her daughter, and then nodded. "Go on, then. You can do it. It's not difficult."

Zelda shut her eyes, thinking hard.

**_Envision the place you want to be_**. The memory of Aileen's voice rang in her head, instructions amplified by Zelda's own slight nervousness_. **Envision your home, where you were last. **_

_ Link's house, _Zelda said to herself_. The Tudor's. I was in my bed last, closing my eyes to go to sleep._

_ **Now release your soul from this world and you will be there in an instant**._

Zelda took a deep breath and let herself go with a snap like a rubber band. The next second, she was lying in her bed, blinking, trying to see in the dark. The clock on her bedside table read 12:31 with its luminescent blue numbers- fifteen minutes after she'd fallen asleep. But she was awake now, and she wasn't tired. So Zelda stood, deciding to pay a small visit to the ocean, and walked from her room.

She padded down the stairs, familiarly unfamiliar, and through the dim kitchen to the door. She unlocked it with a quiet click and stepped outside, the sweet sea air engulfing her and tousling her messy bed hair. Zelda stopped for a moment, breathing it in deep, and then padded barefoot down the porch steps and up the path to the top of the incline, sitting down and swinging her legs over the steep edge and resting her heels in the grass. Leaning back on her hands, Zelda admired the crescent moon shimmering on the dark blue ocean, the way the stars reflected in the ripples made by the wind. The crash and roar of the surf coming in was comforting to Zelda- in it, she heard a slow, bittersweet ballad of Hyrule that her mother had sung her one night, one of the ballads of the Hero of Time. Zelda couldn't remember the words, only that it had been very beautiful. She'd have to get her mother to teach her all the old ballads. At least, though, Zelda could remember the tune, and she sat there watching the sea humming it under her breath.

Somewhere far out, Zelda saw dolphins leaping in the water, and she smiled, still humming softly. A lone seagull soared somewhere far out over the water, and let out a keening cry as it swooped to catch a fish. And still Zelda kept humming, contented by the music, the sound of the surf, the beauty of the night.

She didn't know how long she sat out there- five minutes or fifty, but somehow, she didn't really care. The only break in her simple contentment was when she was joined by an unexpected visitor. He sat down next to her so suddenly that it made her jump and stop her humming as she turned, startled, to face him.

"Link," Zelda gasped, putting a hand to her thudding heart. "I didn't hear you come up. You startled me."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to surprise you." He looked around the beach with a contented smile, the wind tousling his shaggy hair. "It's a beautiful night."

"It is," Zelda agreed, her muscles uncoiling as she resumed her relaxed observation. They sat in silence, lulled by the crash and roar of the surf, and slowly, softly, Zelda began to hum again.

"That's pretty," Link remarked. "But it sounds sad, too. Did you write it?"

"No," Zelda replied softly. "I heard it somewhere a long time ago and the tune has just now come back to mind. I don't remember the words, though…"

"That's a shame," Link stated.

"It is."

Their bodies were slowly creeping closer and closer underneath the light of the growing moon. Sighing, Zelda rested her head on Link's shoulder, and he wrapped an arm around her.

"Sometimes I feel so lost, Link," she stated simply. "Like the whole world's against me."

"You and me both," Link murmured, stroking her hair. "My birthday was nice, really great, but… I don't know. It almost felt like there was something missing."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Like I'm… I don't know. Incomplete. It's nothing anybody did," he added hastily. "It's just like there's something missing, you know?"

"I understand completely."

She turned to look at him then, watching his profile as he stared thoughtfully out at the sea.

"There's just times, Zelda," he finally sighed. "Times when it feels like I'm utterly alone and always will be."

This shocked Zelda- Link, alone? When he had so many great friends and such a loving family? "Don't say that," she admonished softly. "You have parents who love you, and sisters who idolize you. And you've got wonderful friends, and a place where you belong."

"Impa and Haft love me," Link corrected. "My parents left me at the doorstep of an orphanage when I was just a day old. So often, I wonder why they did it, and who I might be if I'd stayed with them."

They were silent for a while, Link looking out at the sea and Zelda staring miserably at his shoulder, her eyes wet.

"Link, you've turned out to be the best person I've ever known," she finally said. "Don't let the actions of two stupid people make you feel bad about yourself. You're fantastic. You have honor and pride, and you're chivalrous and strong… and you're a wonderful person who will never be alone, no matter how hard you try. There will always be people who love you no matter what."

"People who love me…" Link looked down at Zelda, an expression of shock and stupefaction on his face. "I can't think of anyone who…" His words slowly fell silent as he continued to study her pale face under the light of the moon.

There was something collecting in Zelda's throat that made her next word difficult to speak. "Try," she stated, her voice thick. She watched his eyes, those beautiful blue eyes that she could drown in, saw herself reflected in their unreadable depths as they came closer and closer to hers, and then closed them as his lips met hers slowly, tentatively, questioningly. Zelda returned the soft kiss, slowly wrapping her arms around Link's neck, hand over slow hand. Link cradled Zelda's waist, pulling her to him on the soft grass and deepening the kiss, filling her with new sensations, the feeling overwhelming joy, of belonging. Zelda's soul began to sing and soar, filling every inch of her body with tingling exuberance.

Slowly, Link pulled away from her, looking down at her with his eyes, eyes that seemed to glow.

"Link…" Zelda whispered. "Link, we can't…"

"Why not?"

"If one of us gets hurt, I'd have to go back to my father's house, or maybe even to somebody else's house. I don't want to do that, Link. I want to stay here, with you."

"Then we'll have to be extra careful." He kissed her again, tilting her chin up with a finger, his thumb caressing her cheek.

She wanted to resist but she couldn't. Not while he was kissing her, anyway. Especially not when he was kissing her like this… Link parted her lips and Zelda gasped, pulling away. She couldn't let him. He would be killed.

"No, Link, we can't," she protested, a little more loudly. Link ran a frustrated hand through his hair.

"So you're too good for me? Is that it?"

"No, Link, it's just…" the back of her hand began to burn. Zelda used the pain to keep her grounded, keep her sane, to keep her from falling prey to his intoxicating spell. "Link, if you're with me, you'll be hurt horribly. I don't want to put you through that."

"You won't hurt me, Zelda."

"I won't," she agreed. "But…" the stinging pain on her hand worsened. She swallowed it as best she could. "There's just some things in this world that you and I can't control, and some things that you and I can't face together. And there's things that I…" she gulped, gnashing her teeth against the pain, "…things that I just can't put you through, because I care about you too much."

Link sat back, glaring at the moon. Zelda sat there in agony, unable to move, unable to speak. Finally, he angrily opened his mouth. "Is this about Sterling?"

"What?" Zelda asked, totally taken aback. "No. It's not."

"Then what?" He whirled quickly to face her, his beautiful blue eyes sparkling with hurt. "Why can't we be together?"

The pain in her hand was nothing compared to the pain in her heart. Zelda's throat was filled with agony and despair as she choked out the next words- "I can't tell you, Link. I'm so sorry…"

"Dammit!" He cursed violently, pounding his fist into the ground. "Why not, Zelda? What are you trying to protect? Don't you know that you can trust me? That you can turn to me for anything and I won't shun you or do anything but care for you? Because you're important to me, Zelda, and I'd give my soul for you. If you told me to, I'd swim across this damn ocean." Link violently gestured at the roaring Pacific, anger in every line of his form. "Is that what you want me to do to _prove myself_ to you? Just say the word, Zelda, and I'll be off."

"Don't." Tears were streaming down her cheeks. "Don't make me make this choice."

"So there's someone else, then." Link laid back against the grass miserably. "Some pretty boy up in Napa whose parents are rich and famous, who conveniently was unable to come to the house while your host family and their pathetic adoptive son Link were there, and those cute, clueless little girls. I bet you were just so embarrassed of us. Well thanks, Zelda. It's so nice to know you care about us."

"No, Link, that's not it at all. Link, you're not listening to me. Please, Link, stop it…" Zelda was unable to say any more, and instead cradled her head in her hands, rocking back and forth as she sobbed.

"Are… are you crying?" It was impossible to tell the meaning behind Link's words as he sat up and looked at her. "Zelda?"

"Go away, Link," she sobbed. "Just go."

"Oh, Zelda…" He had gathered her up in his arms in an instant and Zelda was sobbing against his chest, trying to relieve herself of both the physical and emotional agony she was experiencing. He rubbed her back in slow, soothing circles and kissed her hair: "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry…"

"Just forget about this, Link," she wept. "Forget about everything that's happened tonight."

"I'll forget in the morning," he murmured, pulling her tighter into him. "But for tonight, can't we pretend like there's nothing keeping us apart? Please, Zelda… it's all I've wanted for god-knows how long."

Words came back to Zelda from her dream the previous night in Hyrule, words that flowed from her lips like rolling water. "You tempt the fates of things that cannot be."

And then she stood and fled.

When she arrived in her room, she locked the door, and then went and hid in her bathroom, stripping off her leather glove and grimacing at the sight of the inflamed triforce on the back of her hand. It was oozing blood and pus, emitting a horrible reek. Zelda wrinkled her nose and ran it under cold water, and once the bleeding had stopped, she wrapped her hand in a spare towel and crept downstairs in search of Neosporin and bandages. Link had already returned to bed, apparently- there was nobody outside the house, and nobody in the kitchen, either. Mission completed, Zelda crept back up to her room, where she spent a sleepless night sitting on her window seat and gazing out at the ocean.

The next morning, she left before anybody else was awake, leaving a note on the fridge that she'd gone in early to do research at the library. Armed with a still-steaming toaster strudel and a heart full of anguish, Zelda walked below the rising sun to the train station, the semi-chill morning air clearing her head.

It had been a long twelve hours, Zelda realized as she tried to remember what homework she had. Though in the time of her real world, only sixteen hours had elapsed since Zelda had left school, it felt like much longer. What classes did Zelda have that day, anyway?

She puzzled over it on the train ride up to school and as she walked alone down the streets that were slowly wakening, and thought also the whole time of Link and his actions of the night before.

Why? She asked herself. Why had Link felt the compulsion to do that? He knew as well as she what could happen if they tried a relationship and it failed miserably. If they weren't living in the same house, Zelda would have said go for it. Or, at least, she would have if that stupid Triforce piece hadn't dug its way into her hand. Now she couldn't risk loving anybody- they would be destroyed. Zelda herself wasn't even sure that she would live to see twenty, depressingly enough. Not if the soon-to-be manifestation was half as bad Aileen claimed it was going to be…

"Oh, Mom," Zelda sighed as she turned into school. She walked through campus, thinking- she passed the cafeteria, where the drill team was already practicing inside, doors open, music wafting out on the chill morning air. She walked to the library, and then stopped, thinking- Link would look for her there, of that she was sure. Where could she go, somewhere where she wouldn't be found for a while?

Zelda's eyes landed on one particularly dense tree next to the library. Perfect. She hitched her Prada backpack high on her shoulders and then nimbly climbed up, settling herself on a particularly thick branch that was all but invisible from below and around the tree, but above, Zelda could see the pearly morning sky. She pulled her bag into her lap and thought, following her mother's instructions, hoping, praying, that they would lead her to Hyrule.

_Envision the place I want to be_, Zelda told herself. _Hyrule, the place where I was last_.

**_Now release your soul from this world and you will be there in an instant_**

Again there was the strange snapping rubber band sensation, and then Zelda found herself in the halls of Hyrule castle. She was running then, calling out for her mother.

Aileen was sitting in the garden, reading a thick tome.

"Zelda?" she asked as her daughter sprinted in. "Zelda, what's wrong?"

"I want to stay here," she cried. "I never want to go back to the world again."

"Did something happen?" Aileen asked, snapping the book shut and standing in concern. Zelda was only able to nod. She presented her bandaged hand to her mother, and in an instant, Aileen understood.

"I'm sorry, Zelda. Did it just randomly do that?"

Zelda nodded, sniffling. Aileen carefully took her daughter's hand, unpeeling the sticky bandage that had congealed to Zelda's skin.

"Let's get this cleaned up," Aileen stated gently. "We'll talk later. Where are you right now in the real world?"

"Hiding," Zelda stated. "School doesn't start for another few hours and I'm sitting in a tree."

"Why are you at school that early?"

Zelda sniffled pathetically, hoping to get out of an explanation. Aileen, however, was not to be deterred. "Zelda?" The older woman raised her eyebrows.

"I couldn't sleep when I got home so I went and sat out and stared at the ocean and then all of a sudden Link came along too and we were talking and then he kissed me and I knew it was a bad idea but I couldn't help it, but then my hand started to really hurt and I understood that it was a sign from the goddesses so I told Link that we couldn't be together and he got angry at me and we had a fight and then I ran away and took a look at my hand and it was a mess you aren't mad at me are you?"

Aileen looked contemplative. "Did you tell Link anything? About the triforce, the goddesses, fate?"

"No… but urrrrgh, Goddesses, was he a jerk!" Zelda made a strangling motion in thin air, screaming through her teeth. "I can't believe some of the things he said!"

"Men can be like that sometimes," Aileen stated wisely. "Let's get that hand of yours cleaned up, that heart of yours taken care of, and then you can go back to school. I'm sorry about this, Zelda. If I could have given you a different future, I would have."

"It's okay, Mom," Zelda stated, and then allowed her mother to lead her out of the courtyard and through the halls of the castle. "I'd tell you that it's okay, even though it's kind of not, but… at least this makes me someone important. At least I have a purpose."

"You are afraid." It wasn't a question- Aileen stated it as though it was simple fact. And it was.

"I am."

"You'd be a fool not to be. But don't fear, Zelda. You have a while yet. And you'll grow in that time. We can stretch it out as long as you need."

"I know," Zelda replied softly as her mother led her into a room that she supposed was the infirmary. Aileen guided her daughter to a bench and commanded simply, "sit." Then she walked to a cabinet and pulled out a salve and a roll of gauze, then brought it back to her daughter.

"I've got a question," Zelda stated as her mother began to clean off her wound.

"Shoot," Aileen replied, pretty face concentrated on her sole child's hand.

"Is this stuff transplanar? Is it going to stay on?"

"I've cast a spell on it- as long as it remains in contact with your skin or the skin of any heir, it will exist."

"Weird," Zelda stated. "And I have another question. Does Audrey ever come and visit you?"

A sad smile crept across Aileen's face. "No," she stated sadly. "She can't."

"Why not?"

"Only the heirs can get here. You could escort Audrey to the castle, but somehow, I don't think it would be a good idea."

"Why not?" Zelda asked as her mother tied the bandage.

"Because," said Aileen simply, "she has already mourned for her dead sister and moved on. Can you imagine what it would be like for her to see me again, and have to accept my death once more?"

"I understand, I guess," Zelda replied, wiggling the fingers on her left hand. "That makes sense."

"Well, now your hand is fixed," Aileen proclaimed cheerfully, "or at least well on its way. Now we need to do something about that heart of yours."

"No, we don't… not really..." Zelda looked down, cheeks red. "I'll be okay."

"And we want to ensure that, don't we? Come on, Zelda. I can lend you a book from the library to read. It'll help you feel better. It always helps me."

Against her will, Zelda eyed her mother curiously. "What book?"

"A book of Hylian fairy tales. The first and second queens are in it. The line wasn't cursed yet, and their stories are… joyous, one would say. And the tales are fantastic. But about that curse…"

Zelda looked at her toes, which were wiggling uncomfortably in her cheap flip flops.

"I think you can break it, Zelda. You just need to accept everything first. And that's going to be difficult for you to do, and you may not be able to accept everything until your ordeal is over, but… you can break the curse. Of this I have no doubt."

"Why do you say that?"

"Just read the fairy tales. And put a strand of your hair in the sleeve of it to keep it from vanishing."

Aileen pushed open the library doors and led Zelda over to one particularly tall shelf, pulling out a well-kept leather bound book with beautiful writing on the front.

"That's not English," Zelda stated rather obviously. Aileen laughed.

"No, it's not. But you can read it anyway."

"How can I read it if it's a language I don't know?"

"Just trust me," Aileen stated, patting her daughter's head. "Now go on and get back to your world. I don't like the idea of you sitting up in a tree alone, even for a minute."

"But that's on pause," Zelda pointed out. Aileen sighed, shaking her head.

"As your mother, I order you back to the world you belong in. I don't want you leaving anywhere important at any time to come here."

"Why not?"

"Because it breaks your concentration. Now go back! You can return tonight."

"Alright, alright." Zelda allowed Aileen to push her out of the library, and then turned to smile at her mother over her shoulder.

"Mom?" she asked.

"Yes, dear?"

"Thanks."

Zelda concentrated on the tree in the courtyard of school and found herself sitting in it a moment later, her hand feeling just fine, a book sharing her lap with her backpack. There were still the strange words on the front, but Zelda opened the book anyway and began to read.

Oddly enough, the weird linear markings made sense, though Zelda wasn't sure how. So she read, and allowed herself to be caught up in tales of days of old, stories about great fairies and dark dungeons and heroes. Zelda didn't notice when people began to slowly make their way into the courtyard until her phone began to ring. Irritated, she answered it: "hello?"

"Where are you?" It was Malon. Zelda realized with a jolt where she was- sitting in a tree at school reading a book of fairy tales.

"I'm in a tree," she stated simply. "I'll be down in a minute."

She hung up, put a strand of her hair in the book sleeve, deposited it in her bag and hopped out, startling the two freshmen making out below the tree.

"Sorry," Zelda called laughingly to them, and then sauntered away on a quest for Malon.

She found her friend several minutes later out by the football stadium, and lightly, Zelda plopped down next to her dear friend.

"In a tree?"

"A tree," Zelda confirmed. "Reading a book of arcane fairy tales."

"You feeling okay?"

"Didn't sleep," Zelda laughed. "What day is today?"

"B day." Malon rolled her eyes. "Zelda, just go back to bed, okay?"

"Never!" she giggled, laughing harder as Lulu, Mikau, and Darmani sat down.

"Been drinking red bull?" Darmani asked as he sat down next to Malon, looping an arm around her shoulder.

"She's been sitting in a tree, actually," Lulu proclaimed.

"How did you know that?" Zelda and Malon asked at the same time.

"There's twigs in her hair," Lulu stated gently, sitting down as well.

"Hey Zelda," Mikau said with a nod, sitting down by his girlfriend. Zelda felt a small pang of loneliness remembering the night before, knowing that she could be sitting here with Link's arm draped around her waist, but she shook it off. Now was a time for fun.

She slipped easily into the normal morning banter with her friends, and by the time that Zelda got to her fifth block class she was feeling fine and normal again.

The rest of the day passed, and Link was behaving as though nothing had happened, though when he got home, he did immediately lock himself up in his room and start blasting _Stairway To Heaven_ by Led Zeppelin. He couldn't be blamed, though, Zelda reasoned- he'd had a horrible rejection.

At least, she reasoned, there was only one day left of school, and then spring break at her father's house, where she could hide and spend her time with Sheik.

Sheik!

Zelda grabbed her phone and dialed, and somewhere on the other end Sheik finally picked up.

"Yo?"

"Did you do something or was it just me?"

"I didn't do anything. But it still started bleeding and oozing. Nearly sent the maid into a fit."

"Poor maid. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine now, mostly. It got better a bit this morning. It stopped hurting so much."

"Mine too." Zelda turned over the neat bandage her mother had applied.

"Any idea what happened?"

"Some," Zelda replied, absently petting Valoo as he jumped onto her bed.

"Well, tell me when you know what's going on. See you Saturday?"

"You bet."

And they hung up.

&-

**Uploaded: ****12:53 PM**

**Monday, June 06, 2005**

**A/N:** Okay, I'm compensating for that dream. I've been working on this all day since I recognized that a lot of people probably are not very happy with me because of the dream, and since this chapter did sort of flow out, I just decided to go ahead and give it to you today. The wait for the next chapter may or may not be slightly longer- we will, unfortunately, be seeing some Sterling, some sulky Link, but fortunately there will be lots of comic Sheik-ness to keep us cheery. See you…eventually!

that person.


	31. Sherlink Holmes

**Thirty One: Sherlink Holmes**

_(Author's foreword: Just to continue my pattern of breaking out from this story's norms, this chapter and the next are both told from first person, mostly from Link's point of view. Didn't want any confusion! )_

Possibly the last place on the whole stupid planet of Earth that I wanted to go was the place that I was going to. Peachy, huh?

So good old Mom came in and woke me up at like six, telling me that I needed to pack. I told her to go away because I was still sulking, but she made this huge thing out of it like she always does and said, well, you can just sulk while you pack then. And then she pulled me out of bed and shoved me in the general direction of my closet, only there was a couch in the way and I sort of fell over. Then she left and I sat there being mad for a few minutes, thinking that maybe I should just hide under my bed so that I wouldn't have to go to Zelda's stupid house, but then I realized that there isn't any space under my bed. That's, like, the gravitational trash dump for the whole universe, and then some.

So I took Mom's advice and sulked while I packed. I definitely did _not_ take any of the shirts or boxers that Zelda gave me. Right now, I didn't want to be reminded of her at all. Fun fact, though: we were living in the same house, and I was preparing to go live in her monster mansion that made my own pretty-well-to-do home look like an itty bitty shack. I mean, honestly. I'd be surprised if Bill Gates had a bigger house. Probably not. Zelda's house is, like, huge. And I'm talking huge. Think resort huge. Yeah. That's Zelda's house.

Where was I? Oh, yes, packing before the big exciting trip. Like I said, none of the shirts or boxers that Zelda bought me for my birthday. I did, however, pack every green shirt I could find, which wasn't too difficult because most of my shirts are green.

Green's my favorite color, you know.

And after the shirts I packed pants and socks and boxers and toothpaste and stuff, and then on a whim I threw my Gamecube into the mix. I had to have something to keep me company over the break, and Starfox just might do it.

Damn that Zelda.

I mean, it's not like I did anything wrong. I just kissed her. And she flipped out like I'd hit the "initiate apocalypse" switch. And it wasn't like she hadn't been giving me the signals. She'd been giving me the signals forever. Kind of. Actually, it was just because I'd been reading her journal that I'd known she liked me, and also from talking to Malon a little. Not too much, mind you. Couldn't have her royal snotness think that I might be going behind her back.

And then she wouldn't even tell me what was wrong! And there was nothing, absolutely nothing about it in her journal. I mean, maybe the reason has something to do with why she seems constantly disoriented lately, like somebody picked her up and took her to planet paranoia for a couple of years and then dropped her back in her shoes with no time elapsing on boring little earth. She, like…

_I don't know. I should just stop ragging on her right here and right now,_ I told myself as I packed.

…but she could be so infuriating!

After I finished packing, I went and showered and changed and grabbed my suitcase and sulked around downstairs in the kitchen. I ate some stuff, um, I think maybe some pop tarts and a bowl of lucky charms, because that's usually what I eat for breakfast anyway, and then went and hid in the living room until other signs of life began to emerge.

The girls (and by girls I mean Jayda) ran practically screaming with glee down the stairs. Jayda _loves_ Zelda's house. Jayda _loves_ Zelda. I swear, Jayda practically idolizes Zelda and spends all her free time hanging around Zelda, and Zelda's just like, aw, aren't you cute? Help me paint my toenails. This color is ultramarine and this color is cyan, do you see the difference? If you're going to be a rich famous brat like me someday, you need to know. It's disgusting, honestly. And Jayda just laps it all up, like, oh, Zelda, you're so great, I want to be just like you and stomp all over men's hearts someday, and Zelda just laughs and says "it's not that hard."

Women. Honestly.

Oh, yeah, Saria came down the stairs right about then too, looking all sleepy. She sort of stumbled into the kitchen, grabbed a pop tart, and then walked out of the kitchen, staggering in a zig zag line. She made a demented beeline for me sitting on the couch and crawled into my lap and began to sleepily munch on her pop tart with a faint "'morning, Link." Then she fell asleep on my chest with the pop tart half in her mouth.

At least Saria still likes me.

So I sat there with Saria in my lap for a while, poor kid was exhausted. Then Mom said it was time to go, so I picked her up and leaned her over my shoulder, and carried her out to the car. As I walked by, Zelda shot me this look... I don't know what it was. This soft sad expression, even though she was smiling. It sort of hit me then that maybe she wasn't distancing us because she wanted to be distanced, but because she was afraid, or because there was something else in the way.

And that was when my brain kicked in and told me that I was being stupid.

I acted like everything was normal, though- I nodded at her and gave her a smile in return as I carried Saria out the door and to the car, then carefully slid her into her seat and buckling her seat belt over her. That was no small feat, either, believe you me- try buckling in a ten year old kid with a lolling head and you'll see just how easy it's not. But like a good big brother, I got Saria strapped in nice and safe (she was still clutching to her pop tart, too) and then let Jayda into her seat. Again, I was stuck riding with Zelda, but at least I had my MP3 player and a heavy craving to listen to _Ground Control to Major Tom_, possibly one of the most depressing songs ever. Which was, of course, a very good thing.

So I got myself nice and strapped into the backseat of the good old wrangler, plugged my ears, and spent the two hour car ride staring at anything but the back of Zelda's head.

A kind of strange thing happened with Zelda, actually. She just vanished after the little beach incident. It was weird. I mean, she was obviously avoiding me, that much is clear- why else would she go to school at 7:15 in the morning? But then I saw her during the day and her hand was all bandaged up. And as she's like the high school queen, everybody knows everything about her and word circulates fast. Oh, believe me, she doesn't know it, but she's like every guy's dream girl and every girl wants to be her. Things weren't really like that before Volvagia became the big thing- at least, they weren't as intense. But people have always watched her, I don't know if she knows it. She's just got this complete air around her… it's intoxicating. And intriguing. So word about her circulates fast, all underground like. I wanted to know what was wrong with her, and I knew I could ask pretty much anybody, so I pulled over Tael since I knew he would know the truth since he and Zelda only talk all the time, and asked him what happened to her hand, and he was surprised I didn't know since we lived in the same house and all. I informed him that I overslept and missed Zelda before she left in the morning, and Tael got this "oh" sort of look on his face.

"She strained her hand practicing bass," Tael stated. "She couldn't sleep last night- she was upset about something but nobody knows what- and so she played bass all night and it was too much stress for the scar tissue and it pretty much exploded."

Now I knew this was a lie, because I can always hear it when Zelda is practicing bass, even if she isn't wired up to her amp. But Zelda's really weird when it comes to that scar, and she wouldn't tell me how she got it. And it hasn't always been there, either- it appeared around Christmas, when she got really sick. She said something about how it happens to the other women in her family, but Audrey…

I don't even know where I'm going with this.

Whatever. Back to the car. As wee were driving along, I pondered the meaning of Life, The Universe, and Zelda. Kind of. Going back to her house reminded me that she wasn't a member of our family at all- she was the daughter of Dad's boss. I mean, not that The Old Man (as Sheik got me calling him) was _just_ Dad's boss- apparently, they were quite the chums back in their college days. When The Old Man's company was still pretty small, Dad got let go by the people he was working with at the time, and went and worked with The Old Man as an overseer. Then the company got bigger and bigger, and Dad moved out to a new subdivision of the company in a new city, to, you know, to oversee and everything, and The Old Man stayed in Napa at his base of operations, and they sort of kept in touch, kind of, but got to being a little more distant. The Old Man paid Dad well, of course, but it was nothing compared to his own salary- but then again The Old Man _was_ the CEO. Dad didn't care about his salary, though. He was making more than he'd ever hoped to make, and so he was happy. He even went to The Old Man's wedding to Zelda's Mom: "really nice woman," Dad told me. "I'm not ashamed to say that I wept when I found out she'd died." They hadn't talked or seen each other for ages, though- practically since the wedding. Zelda's mom and dad didn't go to Mom and Dad's wedding, though- Dad and Mom had a very small private wedding for family only anyway, and it was just as well: The Old Man and his little woman were overseas off and on for nearly three years, traveling the world setting up new "bases" for The Old Man's business. But then they found out about Zelda and came back, and Mom and Dad adopted me a few months before Zelda was born and her mom died, and apparently Mom and Dad went to the funeral. And- get this- Mom offered The Old Man her sympathies, and Dad said they were terribly sorry they'd lost touch, and The Old Man said it's okay, I've been gone a long time anyhow. But then, and this is the killer, he asked Mom and Dad to be Zelda's godparents and to take Zelda if something should happen to him as well. And of course, they agreed. After that, nearly seventeen years passed with little contact- oh, Christmas cards, of course, and Dad would occasionally go up and visit him, but rarely, and then one day, bada boom bada bang, The Old Man calls and tells Mom and Dad that he can't manage Zelda and that she's in dire need of a mother's touch, and Mom says oh, well, send her on down then! And that's why the ocean is blue. Actually, not really. That's just how I happened to meet the girl of my dreams, and get painfully rejected by her. Argh.

A boring two hours more of pondering over "why the ocean is blue", we pulled up in front of those huge gates that keep Zelda's house totally isolated from the like 200 acres around it in either direction. Whatever. Zelda was being all weird, just like she was at Christmas, like she's the queen and we're her servants, sort of, or at least that was how she came across when she spoke into the intercom that we were there, and the gates opened and we drove in and a chauffeur took the cars after we pulled up under the huge portico in front of the house. And of course, those damn dogs tried to attack us again, but Zelda was totally cool about it.

"Julius! House! Isaac, House! Down, Epiphany, down! House, now. Go." She whistled through her teeth and the dogs slunk away with their tails between their legs as she made a face and wiped dog slobber off of her.

I feel for you, guys, I thought. She's completely cold hearted and commanding when she has to be, or even wants to be. A word of warning to every living being on the planet: never _ever_ cross Zelda Harkinian.

If there's something I hate, it's stepping into Zelda's house. It can make someone feel so small and unimportant. First there's these huge crystal doors that you have to push through to get in, and then it's just like you've walked into this big marble and glass cave. The place screams money, and, to quote Ferris Bueler, it's like a museum: very beautiful, very cold, and you can't touch _anything_.

"You'll be in the same rooms as last time," Zelda stated, looking at the staircase with an unreadable expression on her face. "Do you need a refresher tour?"

"We're fine," Dad said, looking around. Then he smiled at Zelda and said, "you don't have to play hostess to us, either. There's lots of time killers here, and we won't think the less of you if you go to take care of whatever business you might have here.

"Thanks." Zelda looked relieved. "Um, yeah. I'm sorry about this, but I need to go talk to Sheik." She began to hop up the stairs and then turned to us: "you remember what time lunch is, right?"

"We remember," Mom said, trying to subtly shake Saria awake. "Don't worry. You can leave us."

She was gone in a second.

"I'm going to go claim a TV," I stated, beginning up the staircase as well. "I brought my Gamecube."

"Link…" Mom looked disapproving, but sighed. She looked funny again… oh, that was right. She had her tattoos covered up with foundation.

"Mom, I really don't feel like… well, you know. So I'm going to go play some games."

"Right, Link. Go on, then."

I dashed up the stairs then too, with the intent of going all the way up to the fourth floor. See, Zelda's house is a little weird, but also a bit understandable. First floor is pretty formal. Second and third are rooms, and then the fourth floor is pretty much recreation. They have a game room up there, and some pool tables and stuff- Zelda told me last time we were here that she would spend a lot of time up there. There was also the gardens and the pool if I got bored, too, but for right now I wanted to play Starfox.

I was about halfway up the stairs between the second and the third floor when I heard a muffled exclamation from below that could only be Zelda. See, it's easy to tell that she's musical- whenever she speaks it's like she's singing, and even when she's angry or whatever her voice is one of the prettiest sounds I've ever heard. So I crept back down to the second floor and tiptoed to where I'd heard the sound from- pretty close to her room, actually. But it wasn't her room, or Audrey's room, or even her dead mom's room, it was Sheik's room, just like she'd said- I was able to tell because there was a giant cardboard sign that said "FORTRESS OF SOLIDITY", which sounds very much like Sheik. So I sat down next to the door and hoped that nobody would come along, and listened.

"What do you mean, he's here? Didn't you try to scare him away? Didn't you TELL my dad not to invite him?"

"Yo, I fought tooth and nail and all, but he wouldn't listen. I even told him what happened and stuff but the old man just laughed and said good, it's about time you started to be involved with boys, and I told him he'd got it all wrong but he just told me that there was no way he could withdraw the invitation, so we're out of luck, Zel."

"I can't believe this. Errrrgh." Wow. Zelda did NOT sound happy.

"Dude, Zel, just chill. You can avoid him. This house is big enough. Maybe."

"Not if he's been poking around like you said he has been. Ugh, why did he have to come? And now, of all times."

"Yeah…. So are you going to tell me what happened?"

"No," Zelda replied snappily. "I'm not, because what did happen is strictly between him and myself."

"Sheesh, Zelda, you're such a confidential person. …no, wait, stop crying! I'm sorry! If there's anything I can do…"

She was sobbing so hard she was having trouble breathing, I could hear it through the door. My heart twisted itself inside out in my ribcage, and I nearly dove into the room then and there. Hell, I thought to myself, who was I kidding? Sure, I'd been rejected, sure, my ego had only taken a _ginormous_ blow, but I didn't hate her for it. I wasn't even angry. Just hurting inside, badly, sick from all the unrequited feelings pumping through my bloodstream, and I'd do anything to fix that.

"Why, Sheik?" I heard her choke out, just barely, bringing a whole new level to the meaning of the word "torment" in my mind. "Why us? Why Link? Why can't things be simple?"

Me? She was crying over me? I thought she was crying over whoever it was that was here that she was upset over. Who was here, anyway? Probably that Sterling jerk. Ergh…. But why was she crying over me? _I_ was the one who had been rejected, after all.

"I don't know, Zelda. I wish that I did."

Sickened, I crept away from the door. I didn't want to hear anymore- I didn't know what Zelda was talking about, and I was positive that she wasn't in love with Sheik, so whatever it was keeping her from me must be bad.

One thing was for certain: I was most certainly not in the mood to play Gamecube.

I crawled to my room and heaved myself onto the bed, belly down, and just laid there staring at the wall.

There was always the possibility, I thought, that I could confront Zelda, but that would be no good. It would probably just upset her all over again and then she'd run, of course, and all my hopes would be dashed like ocean waves on the rocks. So no- obviously, confronting her would be a very, very bad idea.

No way could I go to Sheik, either- the guy was obviously Zelda's closest confidant, closer even than Malon. I didn't know what bond Zelda and Sheik shared, but obviously it ran far deeper than flesh or superficial ties. But Zelda and Sheik weren't in love, I was pretty sure, right?

Hmm….

So with outright confrontations scratched off my list, I thought of more devious ways to figure out what was wrong- but Zelda's journal had been almost empty since our disastrous Christmas break, and I didn't know Sheik well enough yet to know where to look for any log he might have. Come to think of it, though, I wouldn't want to read his log anyway- it might be mentally scarring forever, knowing his attention deficit and wholly surrealist view of the world. So that scratched out espionage as well.

Think, Link, think. It's not rocket science, it's what goes on in Zelda's head, which isn't quite as complicated… mostly…

Wait a second.

If I couldn't get into Zelda's head through either herself or Sheik, and there were no other volunteers, I might want to look back before looking forwards. After all, this crazy stuff with Zelda having a lack of a simple life was probably not her creation, wholly, and I had no way to get into her Dad's head, so…

Right. I was going to infiltrate Zelda's mother's room.

….what was I, _crazy_? I was going to go into a dead woman's room and poke around her things, and, moreover, she was Zelda's mother. Her _mother_! To do something that stupid would be like calling a herd of rabid demon chickens down on one's soul. It was simply a terrible horrible death wish.

The same words were still floating through my head fifteen hours later, when, under the guise of a shadow at 1:30 in the morning, I crept into Zelda's mother's room under the cover of night. It was a little creepy, I'll admit, but part of me liked the thrill that came with it. If there was a ghost or something lurking around, I could so take it on.

I turned around and locked the door after I entered, and then groped along the walls for the light switch. I found a small key, like the kind associated with gas lamps, and turned it.

The room flooded with light.

Holy hell, I thought. The place looked like something out of the palace of Versailles, except not- it was superbly regal, but simple at the same time. And good god, it looked like Zelda's mom had just stepped out for a drink and would be back in shortly. The place was perfect, not all dust and cobwebs like I'd thought it would be.

I cast my eyes around the room for a clue- the brush on the mahogany dresser still had a few wisps of curly blond hair caught between the teeth. A silken kimono was hanging on a hook on one wall, a soft shade of cherry blossom pink. I walked to it, inspecting it carefully- it had the faintest smell on it that must have belonged to Zelda's mother, the scent of springtime breezes, and atop it, Zelda's more familiar rose aura. _She must come in here a lot_, I thought to myself.

My eyes fell upon the quilt that covered the bed, and for a moment, I had to stop and just stare. It was like a tapestry done in squares, a scrambled mosaic that needed to be sorted, full of midnight blues and sunshine yellows, ember reds and forest greens, colors of the daytime and the nighttime clashing, screaming to be unraveled. Carefully, I walked to the bed and turned up the quilt, not knowing why. Underneath, however, there was elegant scripted embroidery in silver thread:

_Zelda XXI - 1838_

_ Becky – 1858_

_ Katie – 1892_

_Alice__ – 1923_

_ Aileen – 1958_

And then, underneath, in pink thread with slightly less elegant a hand:

_Zelda XXII_ – _1988_

I sat back, thinking. This was a little strange, but not wholly unexpected- apparently, Zelda's family had a habit of naming every fifth daughter or so Zelda. Hmm…

I pulled the quilt back a little more, and saw what I had not expected. Three giant triangles in shimmering gold were sewn in, part of a sort of crest. I thought hard for a moment. This looked oddly familiar…

Of course! Zelda's hand!

So this was pretty weird. One day, that thing randomly appeared on Zelda's hand, and she said it happened to the females in her family, and here it was on the back of the quilt. Except the thing on her hand didn't look much like a cut that she may have inflicted on herself- it was too neat. It was almost like a tattoo. But I knew for a fact that she hadn't gotten a tattoo when it appeared, so…

Carefully, I reached out a hand and traced the crest on the quilt, the two spread wings of the bird, and then slowly but surely, I ran a finger along the lines of the three triangles. It was tingly, warm, a strange sensation I was sure I'd felt before but couldn't quite place.

And then the shock set in.

"Ow!" I jerked my hand back from the quilt, shaking it. A strange tingling sensation ran all over my left hand, through my veins and tendons, sparking along the back. It felt a lot like all the times that Zelda had shocked me. Wait a second. Wait just a darn second.

"Something very weird is going on here," I muttered to myself. Carefully, I touched one of the golden threads. A strange sensation flowed through me as I did so, something warm that I knew well. It was like touching Zelda.

Slowly, I pulled my hand away. The strangest feeling entered me then… a terrible, horrible longing. I had to see her. Carefully, I remade the bed, casting a long last look around at the room before I left, turning the light switch and unlocking the door, carefully creeping out.

I slowly made my short way down the hall to Zelda's room. There was light streaming under the door- she was still awake? She'd seemed so tired today…

I knocked softly. "Zelda?" No reply came- there was no sound within. Only following the urgent birdsong in my blood, I carefully, quietly entered.

She was sitting in that bed of hers, propped up against some pillows, eyes closed. Gods, she was beautiful. "Zelda?" I tried again. She didn't move, didn't stir. Cautiously, I crept forward to sit beside her.

"Zelda?"

The first thing I noticed was that her breath was very faint. It was almost impossible to tell, in fact, that she was breathing at all, except that her chest was just barely rising and falling. Was… was something wrong? Was she ill?

There was a peaceful expression on her face. Half afraid that she would shatter, I reached out two fingers and gently touched her cheek. "Zelda?"

When my skin made contact with hers it was as though I'd been hit by a train. A thousand bright images flashed through my head too fast to identify, a thousand sensations and emotions. I jerked back as things ran through my head, certain images repeating- a beautiful courtyard, stone walls and polished floors, and the face of one woman over and over again. My heart was hammering in my chest as I struggled to catch my breath- what had just happened?

My head hurt and I was suddenly very dizzy. There was definitely something strange now, I was certain, something bizarre and inexplicable that even now I wasn't sure how deep it ran. But the random shocks between the two of us, the comforter, the back of her hand, and now this…

I was going to find out what was wrong with Zelda, even if I had to swim to the bottom of the deepest oceans to do so. I would do it even if it killed me. I wouldn't rest until I knew what was wrong with Zelda, and somehow rescued her from it, fixed it, saved her so that she would at least be able to lead a life of love and happiness. No. I would not rest until her dilemma was cured.

And that, I am ashamed to say, was when I passed out.

&-


	32. A NotSoUnfamiliar Fairytale

**Thirty-Two: A Not-So-Unfamiliar Fairytale**

"Link? Link?"

An angel's voice was calling down to me. I was floating on a soft cloud in heaven… was I dead?

"Link, you jerk, wake up. NOW."

Something connected with my head and I shot up as though one of those little devils from hell had poked my bum with a red hot pitch fork. Okay, not quite, but I did sit up, and rather quickly at that.

"Owww. What?" I glared at the 'angel'- Zelda.

"What are you doing in my room?"

"I dunno." I shrugged. Damned if I knew- one minute I'd been dead in heaven and then I'd been here.

"Well thanks. You know, you were sprawled across the bed, like you'd fainted or something. Did the hand of fate just drop you here unconscious?"

"I'm a man. Men don't faint. Why would I be unconscious?" I strained, trying to remember. "I came in to see you. And then I touched you and you shocked me and it knocked me out."

"You did what?" Zelda's eyes were bugging out. I'd be surprised if they didn't pop or something, a la cartoon.

"I just poked you to see if you were awake or if you were okay, because you were hardly breathing…"

"Link..." Zelda rubbed her face with her hands, thinking. "Okay, three things. One: never EVER come into my room without my permission. Ever. Two, if you're worried about me, go tell your mother. Don't just barge in yourself. And three, do _not_, under any circumstance, even if the house is burning down, touch me when I am meditating. Just don't do it."

"Since when do you meditate?" I asked, cocking my head. A strange look came over her face then, almost as though she were pained.

"Since I have too much on my mind to sort it out. Now get out of my room."

"But Zelda..."

"Argh, fine, stay," she howled. "But don't bug me."

I stiffened. Was she… brushing me off? My heart cracked in my chest, bleeding, and I stood and turned.

"I'll leave you to your peace. I can tell when I'm not wanted." I began to walk mechanically from the room when her voice, that beautiful voice, stopped me dead in my tracks.

"I'm sorry, Link, I didn't mean it. Here, let me tell you a story to make up for it. There once was a great and powerful hero," she spoke softly. "A slayer of dragons and demons, a mover of mountains. Even time itself could not stand in his way- he could manipulate it effortlessly. This hero was brought up by spirits of the forest who were children forever. When the hero was just a boy, he left the woods to answer destiny's call, and found that he was alone and incapable of understanding the world around him."

Now this was interesting. Where had she heard this one? Curious, I turned, so as to better hear her. Her face astounded me- it was very sad and downcast as she looked at her bandaged hand twined in her sheets, something shiny and blue clutched in her right hand. What was it?

"The hero boy followed the cry of destiny to the castle, the most beautiful castle in the world. The guardian of the forest had told him to go there, you see, and to find the princess within. So the hero-boy obeyed. He searched for days and nights, never sleeping until he found a small side entrance to the castle. He crawled in and crept through a maze teeming with guards to a courtyard that was all but silent. There, he found the princess. Though they were only children, the hero boy and the princess already felt the deepest of connections, a tie bonding them. But the clouds were teeming at the edges of the horizon, and the princess could sense destruction upon the winds, and so she sent the hero boy away to find two holy relics. You see, he already possessed the third," Zelda added. "The forest guardian had given it to him."

Intrigued, I sat down. I'd never heard Zelda talk like this- I didn't know she was into mythology. And something seemed… I couldn't put my finger on it. Something.

"So for the better part of a month, the hero boy faced down many monsters that grown men would flee from. And he recovered the relics, at great expense to himself. But when he arrived at the castle he found himself too late. The dark lord had emerged and taken over. The princess fled the castle with her nursemaid, and as they escaped, they passed the hero boy. The princess, in an act of desperation, flung the last puzzle piece, an instrument of immeasurable power, to the hero boy. The dark lord suspected, though, and so followed the hero boy to the gates of the sacred realm, where a strange power called the Triforce was guarded. The dark lord seized the triforce, for it could make his every wish come true, and yet his plan failed. Because his soul was filled with greed, the triforce split into three parts- the triforce of power, the triforce of wisdom, and the triforce of courage.

"Because the hero boy was still too young to wield the blades of heaven against the dark lord, he was locked away in the sacred realm until he was of age. Seven long years he slept- each year, the destruction the dark lord wreaked upon the princess' beloved land multiplied threefold. The princess herself was forced to live as a boy, learning the crafts of shadows from her nursemaid, praying for the day that the hero would return.

"When it seemed at last the end had come, the hero reappeared. The princess, in the guise of a man, directed his quest across the world to awaken those with the power to fight the dark lord. Like he, they, too, had had their power sealed away, only able to be awakened by the hero.

"He quested through forests and volcanoes, underneath the deepest lake, across a desert, and even in the house of the dead to awaken the sages to fight the dark lord. After much trial, the Hero had cleansed much of the world of the dark lord's power. Last, though, there was the dark lord himself to combat.

"The hero was by then sure that his beloved princess was dead. This pain had been manifest in him from the start of his quest, however, and as he'd slept for seven years and been unable to mature, the hero had locked himself totally off from the world and the horrors he endured each day."

Zelda looked up at me then- was that pain I saw in her eyes?

"The princess, who had been guiding the hero all through his journey, revealed herself to him before his battle, and was captured by the dark lord. The hero rushed to save her, and fought sleeplessly through the palace of the evil king to save the princess. At long last, he had discovered the chambers where the evil king lay in wait for the hero, and the final battle began. The hero slay the dark lord and rescued the princess, but the castle began to collapse. The two fled, escaping just as it caved in from the top. As they stood together and looked at the destruction, the princess turned to the hero and praised his hard work, thanking the goddesses that the dark lord had been slain.

"But the evil king still possessed the triforce of power, and was not quite dead. He used its strength to recover and morph into a hideous beast, and fought the hero again, imprisoning the princess outside a circle of flames where the battle was taking place.

"They fought long and hard, and there were many times when the exhausted hero was nearly slain. But the princess outside the flames lent him her strength, and together, they finally slew the evil king, and with the help of the awakened sages, sealed him away in the sacred realm forever. When they did, the dark lord's evil was sucked away from the world and imprisoned with him.

"The princess, now queen, turned to the hero then, and saw the anguish and ice in his heart. She knew that she could heal his pain, but she also knew that they would not be able to be together. So, hoping that it might do some small good, the queen used the holy instrument that the hero had wielded, and sent him to the place where he would be happiest.

"The hero found himself alone in the world in his youth, and sought out the young princess then. The king discovered the two of them and banished the forgotten hero to other lands, and the princess sought him out before he departed, and gave him the holy relic that he had wielded, telling him that her heart would always be with him, and begging him to return to her one day and to bring the relic with him.

"The hero quested far and wide and grew into an admirable young man, but the second he left the kingdom, his power, the triforce of courage, shattered. The hero did not notice the absence of this power immediately, nor even after several years. But when he returned to the kingdom, the princess had ascended to the throne and been wedded to the piggish prince of another kingdom. In anger, the hero smashed the holy instrument, gave the princess half, and told her that she could find him when she was ready to fix her mistakes.

"This called the attention of the goddesses, who had been so busy fighting amongst themselves that fate had been forgotten. In a moment of heated anger, they cursed the spirits of the hero and the princess to be reincarnated again and again until the instrument could be reunited. And then, after the hero had left the land, never to return again, the dark lord escaped the sacred realm.

"He destroyed the kingdom, and the goddesses, in an unusual act of interference, froze all the land and flooded it over, hiding their beloved realm securely underneath the sea. A hundred years later, the souls of the princess and the hero were reincarnated again, and though they reunited the triforce, they were unable to break the curse upon their souls. And again and again since then, they have reincarnated time after time, each time unawares, each time unable to break the curse. And so they continue the cycle in misery even to this day, praying for the ability to reunite and break the curse."

I exhaled as she finished her story. Definitely not a happily-ever-after tale. "That's depressing." There was something tugging at my mind, something… I couldn't place what.

A sad smile quirked at her lips. "Isn't it? I read it in a book of lore once."

"Russian fairy tales? Those are always the depressing ones."

"Nah. I'm not sure what its origination is. But I think of that a lot. It's sad, yes, but it's sort of happy."

I raised one eyebrow: "oh?" Gosh dangit, _where_ had I heard that myth before?

"Yeah. Well, think of it. At least their souls were given a chance to repent. You know, that isn't as bad as it could be." Zelda sighed and stretched, then threw a few pillows off the bed and burrowed beneath the sheets. "I'm really tired. I'm going to sleep now. You should do the same."

"I suppose…" I stood and wandered confusedly in the general direction of the door, stopping again when Zelda's voice called out to me one last time.

"Good night, Link," she said softly with a smile that melted my heart. I smiled in return- "good night, Zelda. Sweet dreams" and left, all trepidation and worry forgotten, replaced by contemplation, struggling to recall something, anything that might help me unravel the mystery of Zelda's strange story.

I found when I got to my room that I was in fact very tired, and when I laid down in my bed, I was asleep almost instantly, though thoughts of the myth were buzzing around in my head. It was probably due to this that not long after I had entered the realm of sleep, I began to dream.

&-

_They tore through the halls of the palace, Zelda chasing Link as he dashed madly to the top of the tallest tower._

_ "Wait, Link! Don't! Please!"_

_ He wouldn't listen to her- he kept on running and running, finally leaving her behind. He ripped up stairwell after stairwell, driven on by his insane desire. It was so, so close, his perfect future..._

_ He burst out the last door and found himself high above Hyrule, standing before a great circle of scarlet flames. Within was something gold and shining… the Triforce of Power, the missing piece._

_ He made to grab for it, but Zelda had caught up to him. She pulled him back, away from the flames. Both their faces were blackened by the massive amounts of smoke the strange fire was emitting._

_ "Why, Link?" Zelda asked desperately. "Why?"_

_ "Because I want power! I want strength and might, money, I want the ability to control things. But most of all, I want to be able to show you that I'm just not another blundering boy trying to get your attention. I want you to know that I am your equal. I want you to recognize that even with all your family's money and fame, I am important, and with power, I will be more than important. I will be supreme."_

_ "No, Link." She let her hands drop from his as she began to cry, tear tracks cutting neatly through the grime on her skin. "You don't need power to prove to me that you're worthy of my love. You don't need anything for that."_

_ "I want to give you something, Zelda. That's why I need this. So that I can keep you happy forever." He reached out for her, and pulled her to him, clamping her to his chest in a tight embrace._

_ "Power won't make either of us happy," she replied softly, looking at his determined face. "Power will corrupt us both and turn you against me, and me against you. Let go, Link. It's not what I want."_

_ "Power can get you what you want! Power can give you happiness, Zelda. And power will bind you to me."_

_ "In body but not in soul," she replied, and then reached up, touching Link's cheek. "Link, look at me."_

_ He looked down, and in that instant, Zelda cupped his cheek with her hand and kissed him, hard, with every ounce of passion and pain in her soul. Link jerked away- "why are you doing this to me? You won't stay with me, Zelda, I know it. You don't love me. You can't love me. It's not true." His words were panicked, his eyes darting back and forth between the flames and her face. Zelda smiled sadly._

_ "If you told me to walk through that fire, I would. If you told me to swim across the sea, I would. If you told me to kill myself, I would. That's how much I love you, Link. And I'm not going to let you do something that will destroy us both. Please, Link, let go."_

_ "Think of what we could have, Zelda," he pleaded desperately. "We could reign over the world from Hyrule. We could have all the things we desired, all our dreams come true."_

_ "But that would not bring us happiness. Link, think of what we can have, what we will have if you just turn your back and walk away. Hyrule will be fine. You and I will be fine. We can have a nice house…" tears began to cascade down Zelda's cheeks "…with a car for each of us, and children who love us, and a dog and a cat, and on weekends we could go to the park or the movies, and we can grow old together. Link, we can choose a simple, happy life for ourselves. We might not have infinite power or infinite money, but we'll have each other and that'll be enough."_

_ "How can you say these things? I want to give you a life of luxury and choice, freedom! Why don't you want power, Zelda? Why not?"_

_ "All I want or need is your love to be happy." She looped her arms around his waist, burrowing her face into his chest. "Your love. You. Not the lust of power. Make your choice, Link. I know that it'll be the right one."_

_ It was so close, just within reach, right beyond the crackling of the flames. And yet somehow, Link knew Zelda was right. Power would not guarantee happiness. He wrapped his arms around Zelda, the two of them sinking to their knees on the flagstones, wrapped up tight in a desperate embrace._

_ "How do we destroy it?" Link finally asked. Zelda looked at the circle of flames, and then to Link._

_ "Go find Sheik," she commanded. "Sheik has the tools we need. I'll stay here and make the preparations."_

_ "Zelda…" He traced a tear track with one of his fingers, an expression of uncertainty and pain on his face. She smiled at him._

_ "It'll be fine, Link, I promise." She gripped his left hand with both of hers momentarily, and then let go._

_ He stood, leaving her there on the flagstones, and left the tower. Shakily, Zelda stood, eyes fixated on the flames, something bright cupped between her palms._

_ **So this is how it ends…**_

_ As Link dashed down the stairs, he collided with Zelda's male counterpart. "Sheik, Zelda told me to find you. She said you'd have what we needed to destroy the triforce."_

_ "She said what? You believed her?"_

_ "I…" Link's face went pallid Something was missing- it felt like he'd lost something, something important. He looked himself up and down, and then noticed his left hand- his _unmarked_ left hand. "My triforce is gone. How did she take it?"_

_ "She's an accomplished mage," Sheik replied in a hurried voice. "She would have been able to take it easily if you had not been paying attention. Come, quickly, I fear we may be too late."_

_ "What happens if we are?"_

_"The princess will die. The vanquishing of the Triforce requires a sacrifice- a _willing_ sacrifice with holy blood." They burst out the tower door, only to find themselves too late. The crackling of the flames was gone, the shining triangle within gone. In the center of the charred circle, however, there was a dark lump._

_ "No…"_

_ Link and Sheik rushed forwards, kneeling next to the figure of the dying princess._

_ "You're so stupid," Link said softly. "Why?"_

_ She coughed a little, laughing at Link. "Because I love you, that's why."_

_ And she died in his arms._

&-

I woke up with sweat and tears dripping all over my body. Blindly, I stumbled from my bed and out of my bedroom, to his room. Link's room. I didn't care that I was being completely irrational in my need to see him or my upset, I cared that I'd had a bad dream and needed the comfort given only by someone who loves me.

He opened his door just as I stumbled blindly up, and, in an instant, caught me up in a tight hug as I clung to his chest. No words passed between us- we knew, without speaking, that we'd shared the same horrible nightmare.

"Stay with me tonight," he whispered, his voice full of grieving, aching love. "Please."

Wordlessly, I nodded against his chest, and we entered his room, crawling together into his bed. He looped his arms around my waist and I snuggled into the warmth of him, but sleep did not come easily to either of us.

At nearly five in the morning when the faintest light was beginning to illuminate the blinds, Link fell asleep. I lay there in his arms for another hour, thinking. Had we shared a dream, or had we just had simultaneous nightmares? If it was the former, it had probably been established when he touched me while I was in Hyrule, which might have done something strange to him- and to me. Why else would I have told him the story of the old hero? When I'd been in Hyrule, I noticed at one point the oddest presence floating around me, but I hadn't thought much of it.

But I followed my instinct now- I somehow doubted we'd shared a dream, just both had negative dreams and needed comfort. This wouldn't have been something unusual for me- I often dreamt much the same as those I found myself close to. Often, Sheik and I would dream about the same things. It would not be so strange if it was the same for Link and I.

I looked up at him- sleeping like a baby, of course. The slightest hint of a smile danced at the corners of his mouth, and for a moment, I had an urge to reach up and kiss his lips. But I didn't- I feared any kiss from princess not-charming would awaken the sleeping hunk. So instead I softly brushed a strand of hair from his eyes and disentangled myself from his arms, kissing one of his hands and whispering softly to him just before I left the room, "I'd swim across an ocean for you, too. I just can't right now. I'm sorry…"

And then I turned and left.

&-

**uploaded****9:19 pm**

**Monday, June 20, 2005**

**A/N:** Well! That ends the first person narrative (for now) and shortly, the real fun will begin! Yes, the chaos that dictated the majority of book one, in which Zelda and Link were total idiots! Are you excited? I am. What abounds in the future will certainly be unconscious canoodling, Sheik insanity, massive amounts of stress, humor tucked into strange places, and a refrigerator. Yes, a refrigerator. I've been looking forward to this for a long time… but whatever, you'll see!

I'd like to take a poll now real fast. Two questions, and if everybody would be so kind as to answer them!

1) Who do you think will hold the Triforce of power?

2) Who do you think was the man in Zelda's deranged dream a while back? The woman?

And that's all for tonight! See you in a week!


	33. Dirt

**Thirty Three: Dirt**

Zelda rested her forehead against the cool polished wood of the breakfast table, a steaming mug of coffee in front of her.

"Rough night?" Sheik asked merrily, plopping down next to Zelda.

"Ugh, the worst." She looked up at him, dark purple bags under her eyes plainly visible. "I had to have coffee before I could continue my day."

"That blows. Nightmares?"

"How did you guess?"

"An inkling. I've a good noggin on my clavicle here," he stated goofily, tapping his forehead with a finger. Zelda rolled her eyes.

"Sheik, your clavicle is your collar bone."

"So? Oh, dear. Um, don't look, but we have company."

"Whaa?"

"Zelda, are you alright?"

She shot up ramrod straight, bloodshot eyes wide.

"Sterling!" She fixed a fake smile onto her face. "How very nice to see you again. You look as though you've been doing quite well since last we met. What, pray tell, brings you to my humble abode?"

"You know," Sheik stated, chomping down on a carrot he'd produced from nowhere, "cheese is for nachos."

"And guard dogs are for kennels," Sterling replied, smiling merrily. "So away you go."

"I think not."

"I think so."

"I'm leaving," Zelda stated, standing and dragging herself out of the room, mug of coffee plastered to her hand.

"Woah, Zelda, wait!" Sheik scrambled to catch up with her, Sterling on his heels. "As your soon-to-be-step-brother, I think I should escort you to your room to be sure that you don't fall asleep on the way."

"As a friend acting in the best concern for you, I think that I should come along to hold doors and catch you if you fall over."

"I think I'm fine, boys."

"But…" Sheik began, only to find himself harshly elbowed out of the way by Sterling.

"Zelda, Sheik has been most rude to me ever since I arrived."

"Possibly because you're a chauvinistic egomaniac," Sheik sing-songed, moving over to stand on Zelda's other side.

"I didn't ask for your opinion, Sheik," Sterling stated blandly, and then turned to Zelda. "I simply wanted to apologize for my behavior on my last visit here, and hope that we could start our friendship anew. You know, on the proper foot."

Zelda nearly spewed out the coffee she was drinking. As it was, though, she had to work very hard from keeping her gag reflex from exploding.

"No thank you, Sterling," she stated simply. "I think you've caused quite enough trouble in my life."

He scowled, and Zelda realized right then that he really wasn't all that handsome after all.

"I hope you re-think your decision," he stated calmly, and then nodded at Zelda. "If you'll excuse me, I have to go find my little brother." He turned around and walked back down the stairs, leaving an irritated Zelda and a fuming Sheik standing three steps below the second floor landing.

"What a jerk!" Sheik ranted, slamming a fist into his bandaged left hand. "I can't stand him. You can't stand him. Hell, our predecessors probably would have shipped him straight off to the Evil Realm to be a chew toy for… that guy. You don't think that he's the reincarnation of… that guy, do you?"

"No," Zelda stated calmly, looking down at her left hand, also bandaged. "My hand has never reacted around him."

"It could be a guise, a cloak." Sheik offered. "He's a skeaze. I _really _don't like him."

"Neither do I, but I don't think he's a threat of any sort, nor will he ever be."

"Famous last words," Sheik grumbled, helping Zelda to her room.

"Nah," she replied, taking another gulp of coffee. "Sterling's not our man, I'm certain."

"Might've been easier if he was," Sheik stated grumpily. "Then we just could have taken his triforce and been done with it. Or killed him, possibly."

Zelda shuddered, and then looked to Sheik, hopelessness in her eyes.

"How are we going to pull this off, Sheik? We're just sixteen… well, we'll be seventeen.. but we're still kids and this isn't a world where we can accomplish much. How are we going to save everything?"

"I don't know," Sheik stated, "but I'm sure the answer will present itself in time. Go get ready. If you decide you want to take a nap, feel free. I'll cover for you."

"You sure?" Zelda asked wearily.

"Positive. Go on, then," he stated with a grin as Zelda walked into her room. As she turned to shut the door, he stuck his tongue out at her and chirped, "nacho girl."

Zelda would've dumped her hot coffee all over him if the door hadn't already been shut.

&-

"Question," Zelda chirped.

"Answer," Aileen replied, not looking up from the thick tome of ancient text she was reading.

"Didn't Tetra and Link destroy Hyrule?"

"They buried it under the ocean."

"And what about the Triforce?"

"That can't be destroyed. Or couldn't, anyway. Now, though, it would be possible."

"Eh?"

Aileen sighed and put her book down.

"When Ganon returned to Hyrule with Link and Tetra in tow, he had one slight miscalculation- that the Triforce would be made whole again. As it was, half of the Triforce of Wisdom was missing. It was incomplete, and thus couldn't be destroyed- and the wish of the King couldn't be fully carried out. So as it was, Hyrule was buried underwater for about a month, and then air popped back up around it."

"What about all the peasants? How are they still alive?"

"They weren't alive when the land temporarily flooded, so it follows that they couldn't have died, either. They're still frozen."

"Okay…"

"And another thing," Aileen added. "As the Sage of Time, or possibly ex-sage since you're about to take the title of that, I'll give you my theory on why Hyrule was underwater for roughly a month… I told you how Hyrule manifested again on the other time stream, didn't I?"

"Ye-es…"

"Well, it was never destroyed in the first place there. It was never even flooded. I think," Aileen added, looking uncertain. "This whole thing is too complicated. But I believe that… hm." She stopped, biting her lip, and looked up. "Oh squash, this is all far too complicated for mortal minds. But basically, Hyrule was unwittingly restored by Tetra and Link, and then it came back here. You know, because it's a loop, and loops loop."

Zelda's mouth was half open, one eyebrow raised. "You totally lost me."

"I lost me, too." Aileen looked up at the watery sky, and then back down at Zelda. "There's times when I'm sure I've gone crazy here, all by myself."

"Ick," Zelda stated, for lack of anything better to say. She thought for a moment, and then opened her mouth again. "Hey Mom?"

"Hmmm?"

"Since this place is a loop, and since it loops and all, and I've met other dead Zeldas and their daughters, would it be possible for a mother to meet her daughter before she was even born?"

"We have precautions against that," Aileen stated, plucking a flower from a small plant. "Watch."

She looked for a moment at the delicate petals, and then crushed them in her hand. Zelda watched idly as Aileen opened her palm, revealing that nothing was there. Zelda glanced down at the little plant the flower had been growing on- there was another in its place, exactly the same as before.

"There are charms that keep things from happening if they aren't meant to be."

"I see."

Silence for a few more moments. Then-

"Mom, do you think two people can be 'meant to be'?"

"Are you thinking about Link again?"

"Yeah."

Zelda laid back on the grass of the courtyard and looked to the sky, cheeks a little rosy.

"I don't know, sweetie. It's hard to say."

Zelda looked over at her mother- Aileen's pretty curly hair was down loose around her shoulders, her pale arms clasped around her knees.

"Impa told me about a curse," Zelda began again. "That the Hero of Time and all his descendants would suffer… the horrors that followed them from life to life were so great that they would never find happiness."

Aileen was silent, thoughtful, ponderous. Zelda finally spoke again:

"Maybe it's like in all the stories. Maybe love can break the spell."

"Perhaps."

"And maybe love can break the chain that keeps me reincarnating and Link reincarnating and…" Zelda stopped short with a sigh. Aileen looked at her daughter, a soft smile on her face and sadness flickering in her eyes.

"You've been reading the book of fairytales."

Zelda nodded. "I have." And she resumed looking into the distance.

&-

Zelda was floating in the pool on a purple plastic inner tube in a swimsuit Sheik had bought her, oddly enough: a pair of black, white, and pink Hawaiian lei swimming trunks and a matching triangle bikini top. Her toes dappled the water as she floated across the lagoon and back, her English book in her grasp -Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, which had turned out to be depressingly interesting. Just reading it, however, was providing Zelda with an enormous (and nearly lethal) culture shock.

Link appeared on the patio in front of her suddenly, leaning on the railing, smiling that irresistible smile of his. Zelda cursed him and his insane attractiveness, cursed herself for being of a weak constitution, and cursed the goddesses for playing so many sick jokes anyway. Still, though, she smiled back.

"Hey," he said in that easy way of his, flicking some of his shaggy hair out of his eyes and adjusting his green baseball cap.

"Hey yourself," Zelda replied, dog-earing a page and closing the thick book softly. "What's up?"

He scowled. "I'm bored."

"I thought you were hanging out with Sheik," Zelda said, furrowing her brows, her voice lilting up at the end as though she'd asked a question. Link shrugged.

"He vanished somewhere, said something about termites and Dalmatians and damage control. I've been wandering around looking for something to do ever since."

Zelda quirked one golden eyebrow. "Termites and Dalmatians and damage control. Typical of him. I don't suppose," she added, eyeing the far distance to the nearest side of the pool, "that you want to help me get back to shore?"

"Nope," Link replied, leaning heavily on his elbows. "I'm going to watch you float and I'm going to enjoy myself."

"You're a jerk," Zelda stated plainly, fanning herself a little. Despite the cold winter, the day was incredibly warm. Go figure.

Link smiled wolfishly. "I am a jerk," he confirmed. "And you are quite the sight to see floating there in that little tube of yours."

"Greaseball."

"Brat."

"Skeaze."

"Loser."

"Geek."

"Ouch," Link stated, putting a hand to his chest. "You have mortally wounded me. And now I go inside to poison myself, just like Romeo did because he was an idiot, and you will cry because your precious Link is dead and give a long winded speech about pretty dresses and flowers and why turpentine smells bad, and commit suicide too because you're so distraught that I, Link, your guiding light, have abruptly died." He grinned, sticking his tongue out at Zelda, and turned to leave.

"Wait a second you ass," Zelda called after him. "I really would be upset if you died. Don't joke about it. And please come help me out of this pool. My butt's getting cold anyway."

Link muffled his laughter as he turned to inspect Zelda. "Your butt is getting cold."

"Well," Zelda stated, shifting uncomfortably in the innertube, "it's the only part of me that's in the water, and the water is pretty chilly."

"Ah-huh." Link nodded his head once, and then sauntered down the porch steps to the edge of the lagoon. "Well this is a dilemma. I'm wearing my good new boots and my favorite pair of pants."

"Link," Zelda stated with a frustrated sigh, "all of your pants are exactly the same. Khaki cargo every time. And you can take off your shoes. Come get me out."

"Say please." Link cackled.

"Please."

"Say it like you mean it."

"Please?"

"And tell me that I'm the most amazing and handsome funny nice considerate guy you know."

"You're practically begging to have this book thrown in the middle of your forehead, you know that?" Zelda growled, waving the Poisonwood Bible threateningly. "Come get me or else."

"Or else what?" Link asked, unlacing his boots nonetheless.

"Or else…" Zelda thought for a moment, and then shot Link a feral grin. "Or else I'll call my flying monkeys on you."

Link stopped, mouth open, mid lace, and then burst out laughing as he removed his other shoe and rolled up his pant legs.

"You're rich, you know that?"

"Yes, take a look at this house."

"You're a brat."

"Jerk."

"Spoiled little snot bag."

"Poo-head." And Zelda began to giggle as Link waded into the water and then reached out, grabbing Zelda's hand as she drifted slowly past, stopping her.

"Give me your book," Link commanded, and without knowing why, Zelda obliged. Link set it securely on the shore with his free hand and then abruptly flipped Zelda and her tube over, dashing out of the pool. Zelda splashed into the water with a squawk and came up spluttering, hair plastered to her face and shoulders.

"I'm going to kill you for that. Kill you!"

"Please don't. You'd be so distraught without me."

"Argh!" Still spluttering, Zelda waded up the fake shore, and then looked at Link, who was standing back and grinning at her.

"You know," Zelda began, sniffling, stepping slowly towards him, "I'm not feeling very loved right now."

Link took a step backwards. "Um."

"And I think that what you did wasn't very nice." She took another step forward, and Link took another step back, wide eyed, just like a deer in the headlights.

Zelda grinned menacingly. "I think you should give me a hug."

"No thanks." Link took two steps back for good measure.

"No, honestly," Zelda stated, coming for him. "I really think you should give me a hug."

And suddenly they were off, Link dashing away through the gardens and Zelda following close on his heels. She finally caught up with him around one particular corner, tackling him in the dirt and clinging to him.

"Get off, get off!" Link squawked as Zelda laughed and clung on tighter. "You're getting me all wet!"

"You should have thought of that before you capsized me," Zelda retorted, but rolled off Link nonetheless. They lay there side by side, panting in the dirt from their run. Finally, Link rolled onto his side and propped himself up on his elbow, looking at Zelda, who had a little mud in her pretty blond hair. He tweaked her nose, smiling at her gently.

"You're beautiful even when you're wet and angry."

"Shut up, Link." Though her words were vicious, she smiled nonetheless. And she closed her eyes, breathing in deeply, content to lie next to her best friend in the dirt of her mother's garden.

&-

**uploaded****Monday, June 27, 2005**

**8:45 PM**

**A/N:** Hurrah update. It's short. Bite me. I've had a terrible, horrible week, and that was all that could write, and I didn't proofread it because I have my final project due for my summer school classes tomorrow and am too busy agonizing over my stupid paper. Anybody have any useful anti-drunk driving pages they want to send me?

Thanks for reading. I appreciate it. Review, too, and make me feel better. Yay.


	34. Sneaky Sheiky

**Thirty Three and a half:** Sneaky Sheiky

I'll tell you how I got here, even though Lyx wouldn't want you to know. I snuck out of a little trunk that she keeps me in, and stumbled my way over here. I thought since you don't see quite enough of the splendedididify that is my own very amorous person, if I do say so myself, I should keep you all posted on what exactly is happening, why there was no update yesterday and so forth. Yes, I, Sheik, will save the day! Aren't you excited? I am. So allow me to clear up some confusion.

After my ordeal with the killer termites from outer space, I had to mend the poor broken Dalmatians back to health because I, Sheik, am so very giving like that. And then I called off the press, who were rabid and begging for my photograph and my story, and…

…oh, wait, that's not what you wanted?

Well let's see. Business in the order of… business, I suppose. First off: the results of the poll are in. Somewhere. I think Lyxie misplaced them, so we'll get back to this one after she finishes digging around on her desk, which is currently covered in controllers, a teething ring, too many papers with random scratching on them, headphones, water bottles, CDs, books, collectable dragon figurines, plants, paintings, markers, a screwdriver, and a rooster alarm clock. Whew! It may take her a while.

Second order of business: I'm going to tell you the highlights of everything that has been going on so far in book two. I know that updates only come once a week, and as it is, people are prone to forgetting my glorious deeds, because seven days is an awfully long time. So here goes:

**From Link's side**: Link has seen Zelda's hand but doesn't know what's going on. After multiple road blocks keep Link from being with Zelda romantically, he decides that it's time to do some investigating- especially when the night after he kisses her, her scarred hand is bound the next day, presumably hurt. When spring break comes around and the whole family plus Zelda take a trip to the Harkinian house, he does some investigating- poking around Zelda's mother's room, where he finds a quilt that intrigues him. When he turns the quilt over, there is embroidered the name of five women, the last two Zelda's mother and Zelda herself. Underneath he finds a crest, which he traces with his fingertips- and is shocked by, much like his shocks when he and Zelda make contact. A sudden urge to see Zelda overwhelms him and he goes to her room, only to find her in a strange, disconcerting state. He touches her and his head is filled with fragmented images- he passes out. When he wakes up, Zelda tells him a story of a hero and a princess doomed to reincarnate until they can repair the tether that binds them together. After hearing this story, Link has a nightmare about himself, Zelda, and Sheik in a palace, fighting over some strange relic that kills Zelda. When he wakes up, he finds Zelda at his door and allows her in, uncertain why she's there but somehow knowing that she had a bad dream too, much the same is his- his need to see her is so great that he doesn't much care. With her in his bed, comfort and exhaustion overwhelm him and he falls asleep.

**From Zelda's side**: Zelda is ripped apart by her longing for Link, but her fear of what he may be, and the fear of endangering him. She learns, slowly, to live and deal with the Triforce embedded in her hand, and takes comfort in her soon-to-be-stepbrother, in almost nightly phone calls (which the reader does not see, only hears about). After attempting to create and overcome as Sheikah obstacle course, Zelda is discovered by Link, and Impa in turn finds out, and tells Zelda that once she and Sheik are living with her, she will begin training them in the Sheikah way because it will be necessary for the downfall of the Triforce of Power. On Link's birthday, Zelda has a strange dream that she's not sure what to make of, and when she wakes up she's in Hyrule with her mother. After spending several days in Hyrule learning about the country, herself, her mother, and her future, Zelda returns to the Tudor's house, where only fifteen minutes have elapsed. Unable to sleep, however, Zelda walks out to the beach, where she is strangely shortly joined by Link. After he confesses his love to her, a single kiss confirms Zelda weeping, fears of herself and him, as Zelda's hand is ripped open by the contact. She returns to Hyrule, where her mother fixes her hand and gives her a thick book of Hylian mythology to read and sends her back to the real world. At the end of the day, Zelda calls Sheik to ask if he did something, to which he replies no, but he underwent the same pain. Upon returning to her father's house the following Saturday, Zelda has a long discussion with Sheik about her hand, Hyrule, the future, and the guests in her father's house. At the end of the day, she takes her half of the Ocarina of Time and pays a visit to Hyrule, where she spends more time with her mother learning about the country, the people, and the legends. She begins to feel funny midway through her second day there, but the feeling is gone by that night. When she returns to the real world ten minutes after leaving, she finds Link unconscious on her bed. She wakes him up, and, to quell his anger, tells him the story of her descendant and the hero of time, hoping that he'll realize the truth. He doesn't. When he leaves and Zelda slips into sleep, she has a nightmare about the destruction of the Triforce of Power, and somehow shares the dream with Link. She goes to his room, and though he falls asleep, she is unable to fall back asleep. The next day, she pays a short visit to her mother to discuss such things, and is left in a state of confusion.

What a mouthful! Hopefully, though, you all aren't confused, and are maybe getting more of a grip or understanding of things. Everybody knows, though, that this story is secretly about myself. Eh? Eh? I, Sheik, am the king! Okay, not really. But it's fun to pretend.

Poll results are in! Here we go, yay!

**Question**** 1**- Who do you think has the Triforce of Power?

_"hacker"/"computer stalker"_ 11

_Sterling_ 10

_Khail_ 7

_Ganondorf_ 4

_Sheik_ 3

_Hasn't appeared yet_ 1

_Ganondorf/Khail_ 1

**Question 2 –** Who do you think was the man in Zelda's strange dream? The woman?

_MAN:_

_Khail_ 6

_Ganondorf _4

_"hacker"/"computer stalker" _3

_Ganondorf/Khail_ 2

_Sterling_ 2

_Sheik_ 1

_Tingle_ 1

_Haft_ 1

_Link's father_ 1

_WOMAN:_

_A Past Zelda_ 3

_Lulu_ 1

_Zelda_ 1

_Navi_ 1

_Tatl_ 1

_Impa_ 1

_Link's mother_ 1

**Number of people who had no idea for one/both questions:** 14

Now note everybody, that's not a totally accurate census, since Lyxie lost her magical red marker and refused to continue taking down the statistics of the poll in anything other than her beloved marker. I told her she was being ridiculous, but alas, she refused to listen. No fears, though- those were the mostly accurate results.

If you have any unanswered questions, I am terribly sorry. Feel free to send them over and I will answer them as quickly as possible. I love answering questions! It's educational.

Onto more serious matters. The reason why Lyxie couldn't update yesterday is.. well… several reasons. For one, she was physically unable to update, as she was out of town anyhow- at a water park, off celebrating independence day with her friends, who are all bizarre goons. To read more about that, you should look at her livejournal. Unfortunately, even had Lyxie been home, there would have been no update. The reason for this: the stress amount in her life has tripled due to lots of things out of her control. Now, she's got a very good grip on it all so there's no reason to worry, there just may be a bit more of a wait until the story is continued as she's just trying to keep things together and get through every day. Writing is, unfortunately, one of the last things on her mind. Don't you all feel not-loved? I do.

There will probably be another update just like this next Monday- Lyx is, unfortunately, leaving tomorrow for camp, and she won't be back until Saturday… but she'll probably sleep all day Sunday. Again, if you want details, you can check them in her journal. I dare not bore you with the paltry details- I personally find them boring, and as Sheik, my word is law. Law, I say! Now somebody bring me a lollipop!

This half-update has now been concluded. If you have any questions, now is the time to ask them and I, Sheik the all knowing (because I do know everything) will answer them for you… assuming the question is prudent. Don't bother asking me "who has the Triforce of Power?" or "when will Zelda and Link get together?" because if you do, I will have to throw bacon at you. Yes. Bacon. And possibly scrambled eggs, too. How do you like that? Yeah! I bet you don't! Good! So ask me any questions of substance, possibly plot holes that the genius has created, and I will gladly fill them in for you because I, Sheik, am magnificent like that. Magnificent I say!

This concludes my fabulous discourse. I shall see you all on Monday, then! Fare the well!

Salutations,

Sheik, the King of all things Sheik-ish.


	35. Flying cheese formatting problem

**Thirty three point nine nine flying cheese FORMATTING PROBLEM **

I AM SO SORRY, EVERYBODY. I HAVE NO IDEA WHY IT DID THAT! FORGIVE MEEEEEE ;;

Before we get started on this week's fantabulous chapter, I, Sheik, will answer a few questions, posed by several lovely reviewers.

For **Lem04**, who asked, _"who has the triforce of power?":_ bacon'd.

For **SakuraLuna** who asked, "_what flavor of lollipop do you want?":_ I'd like a grass, sharpie, or Nyquil flavored lollipop, thanks. For **Dragoonknight**, who wanted bacon and a lollipop: bacon'd.

For **the hero of time 2005**, who wrote a small paragraph- _"question #1.What is the meaning of life? #2.What happened to Amelia Air Heart and #3.Is there a lock on your trunk? Tell me all knowing Sheik of the Sheikah! Also is Link gonna beat the living daylights out of the stalker or __Sterling__? Ok now the review, wait can_ I even review this if this doesn't really have to do with the story?" I write you a small paragraph in return! Question #1- forty two. Question #2- she went to the dark side of the moon to become Elvis' lover. Question #3- potatoes. For the Link question, the answer is yes. For that last question, you have obviously answered it yourself.

For **Silverpistola**, who brought me an abundance of watermelon flavored lollipops: fifty thousand cosmic karma points to you!

For **Dragons Kitty**, who asked, _"Are you always this funny?",_ the answer is yes, of course I am. How could I not be, with the copious wits that the gods have bestowed upon me?

For **FrizzMedusa**, who asked "when does book II come out?": book two is already out. You're reading it. Book I ended at new year's, and book II started at valentine's day. Remember? ) I suppose that my charm is just baffling and makes silly minute details like these vanish from the minds of even the most profound reader.

DING DING, WE HAVE AN AMAZING QUESTION FROM **MORIC**, WHO ASKED, _"what happend to the other half of the orcarina zelda has just one half could it be the link to destroy the curse?"_ **EVERYBODY needs to pay attention to this one, because I'm not explaining it again**. That means you, person who is just scrolling down to get to the actual update. Yes, you. Stop. Read this. In answer to your question, Moric- Zelda told Link the story of the Hero of Time and Queen Zelda. Now, if we don't recall (or possibly skipped over that part because you thought you'd read it all before), Link, Hero of Time, was angered when he returned to Hyrule to find the princess married, so he bashed the Ocarina of Time in half, gave part to Zelda, and kept the other part himself, saying that she could find him when she was ready to fix her mistakes. The hero had been promised the princess' hand, you see, and had vowed to one day return for it. But Zelda was made to wed, and the whole thing got all messy. Now, when Link broke the holy relic in his fury, it called the attention of the goddesses, who had sort of been zoning out for a while and weren't supposed to let that happen. When they saw what Link had done, they got mad at both Link and Zelda and knew the two had to be united somehow. So here's the thing- when a Link and a Zelda fall in love, the love is doomed to fail, unless the Ocarina can be made whole. The Ocarina is key in the cycle of balance and power, you see. Now, I'm not saying where the other half of the Ocarina is, but I will say this: the other half of the Ocarina **will** be appearing soon. And that's all I can tell you without stepping outside the boundary of the question or giving something away. Possibly another well-placed question will reveal more… but we'll see!

To **Lurelee**, who asked, "the bacon and fried egg... will you throw in some ketchup too? And possibly a couple off sausages and a cup of tea?": bacon'd, egg'd, ketchup'd, sausage'd, tea'd, and moldy cereal'd.

To **Siren of Chaos**, who asked to hear the story of my great ordeal with termites, and also asked who the man and woman from the dream are: I do in fact know who the man and the woman from the dream are. You will too, soon, but I won't tell you anything else. And the tale of my ordeal with the termites is far too fearsome for one so delicate a flower as yourself. I assure you, sweet Siren, you, oh precious innocent, are better off not knowing the cruelties of cosmic secrets.

Now that all that is done with, I will stand on my soap box only a moment longer, just for a brief explanation. There was nothing more to add to chapter number thirty three. If you truly wish to know what happened after Link and Zelda played wet huggy thingy in the garden and wound up lying in the dirt, I will improvise an ending to this chapter on the spot, and pull something out of the next chapter just to make everything all nice and tidy. Enjoy your reading, and I'll see you next chapter. Hooray!

**-End Sheik**

_"You're beautiful even when you're wet and angry."_

_"Shut up, Link." Though her words were vicious, she smiled nonetheless. And she closed her eyes, breathing in deeply, content to lie next to her best friend in the dirt of her mother's garden._

After a time, Zelda rolled over onto her stomach, looking at Link.

"You go in first," she said to him, poking his arm and jerking him out of a contented snooze. "I'll wait a few minutes and follow."

"Why the bother?" he asked, opening his bright blue eyes slowly and fixating them on her. "Why not go in together?"

"People will say things if we walk in together, tousled, covered in dirt and mud, with me in a swimsuit." Zelda bit back a snort of laughter as his eyes widened at realization of her meaning, and he scrambled up, dusting himself off and attempting (in vain) to make himself presentable.

"I'll see you in a few minutes, then?" he asked as he began to leave the garden. Zelda nodded, smiling, and Link turned his back and walked away. Zelda rolled back over, flopping onto her back and staring up at the sky, thinking to herself about Link and the impossible situation she was stuck in with him- couldn't live with him, couldn't live without him.

Face it, girl, she heard Malon's voice saying to her in her head. You're hopelessly in love.

"Shut up, Malon," Zelda grumbled to a particularly cheerful flower, and then, deciding that she'd waited long enough for Link, stood and left the garden. By the pool, she stopped, picking up her forgotten copy of Poisonwood Bible, and then sauntered inside and up to her room to get cleaned up. Luckily, she met nobody on her way up- it was almost as though the house had been deserted. Shrugging to herself, Zelda hopped up the stairs and meandered to her room, turning and locking the door behind her as she entered. She heard the softest rustle and turned, only to be met face to face with Impa, though she could have sworn that her room had been empty moments before.

"Ack!" She stumbled backwards, whacking her back into the door and blinking in surprise. Impa stepped back, grinning, and took a look at Zelda.

"You look a royal mess."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Heart still beating ungodly fast, Zelda flicked a strand of hair from her eyes and took a few deep breaths, calming herself down. "You frightened me."

"Good," Impa stated. "You need to be kept on your toes."

"On my toes? On my toes for what?" Zelda searched Impa's face, which was carefully guarded, and waited for the reply that never came. After a while, Impa spoke.

"Your father has sent all the guests away, and we will be leaving tomorrow."

"What? Why? Tomorrow?" Zelda was confused- Richard Harkinian had never done anything like this before, never in her memory.

"A new, sharp young man has just joined your father's board in the company. Strong, rich, and ruthless, this man is giving your father a run for his money. He has only been on for a month, but your father is going to take a vacation for a while, and wants his house empty for a time."

"This doesn't sound good. Dad owns the company, though, and holds most of the stocks, and even if Dad is pushed off of the board somehow, our future is financially secure. What's the worry?"

Impa's lips curved into a frown. "It's not a matter of your father losing his job," she stated. "This man is incredibly charismatic and wants to take the company in a new direction- and has managed to get most of the men on the board to agree. As it is, only your father stands in his way."

Zelda felt the faintest chill in her body that had nothing to do with the wetness of water and mud on her skin. "Stands in the way of what?" Zelda asked uncertainly.Impa looked down, and then looked back up again, her eyes filled with terrible truth.

"Harkinian Industries becoming a major lethal weapons manufacturer and genetic researcher."

Zelda was feeling definitely cold as Impa spoke. "What's this man's name?"

Impa sighed. "You won't like it, but believe me, he's no major danger to us yet. He still isn't whole. But he is slowly becoming manifest."

"Impa," Zelda began again, fear uncoiling in her stomach. "The name. Tell me his name."

Impa closed her eyes regretfully as she spoke. "Ganondorf Dragmire."

**Uploaded: ****Saturday, July 16, 2005**

**Roughly ****7:45**** IN THE MORNING**

**A/N:** Okay, I am not going to be able to update until Monday, I think… hope? Knock on wood. knocks on desk Show of hands- who has already bought AND read the next Harry Potter book? I went to the midnight release party, got in line super early, got like the tenth copy my store sold, and went home and read straight through the night. Yeah. I'm a junkie. Okay, so how many of you did that? And another show of hands, who cried? Yep, bawling right here. Or as close to bawling as I ever get, anyhow. IT WAS SO GOOD AND SO SAD, OH MY GOSH. Send me a box of Kleenexes, _please_!

To skip around (because I'm nice and delirious), I do believe that I am going to inform you that I am 1) listening to Bohemian Rhapsody right now, and 2) going to go on a writing spree. So I may or may not be updating again this afternoon, I dunno, depends on writers block, level of coherence, so on and so forth… but if one doesn't come later (and don't hold your breath) then expect it on Monday. I WILL update this time, honestly. I promise!

Later.

OH AND P.S. IF THIS CHAPTER SUCKS I'M SORRY I AM TIRED SO DEAL WITH IT.


	36. The IT Hits the Fan

**Thirty Four: The "it" hits the fan**

Link didn't know why Sheik, Zelda, and Impa all had drawn faces on the ride home the next morning, and in truth, he didn't really want to find out. Haft had been oblivious to the tense air, and Jayda was much the same. Saria, however, seemed to have picked up on the mood quick, and, when Link had last seen her as she crawled into Haft's yellow wrangler jeep, had been sulking.

_Whatever,_ he said to himself from where he was sitting shotgun. At least they weren't stuck at that weird house anymore.

Though Link, in the front seat, was happy to be leaving the house, Zelda was miserable. Not that she didn't want to go back to the Tudor's, it was just the meaning of her abrupt departure, the shock. Her pain, though, was well disguised by a well-concealed veil of tears and despair. Impa had said it wouldn't be a thing to worry about, and if Impa could get to Hyrule, Zelda wouldn't be worried, but as it was, Zelda was having difficulties just getting herself there, and she had no idea how she might even go about dragging Sheik there. She _would_, she decided, take Sheik there- Hyrule was as much his land as it was hers. After all, Sheik was the missing Link.

Ha, that one was almost funny. Sheik, Link. Hah. Sometimes, Zelda really did crack herself up.

Even Sheik seemed to have been "yoinked" from his usual out-of-body experience- gone was the amused, detached bystander in the middle of the action, and in his place was a worried young man, blood red eyes hooded, turned inward as he thought. Zelda would have given a million rupees (was that a lot?) right then to know what was going on inside his head, but as rupees were hard to come by unless one happened to be in Pakistan or Hyrule (and Zelda was thinking of Hyrulian rupees, not the little paper bills), she probably wouldn't have had a million to wager anyhow.

All these disjointed thoughts were rushing around inside her head as the three occupants of the car stared out of the window (Link), inward, despite the focus on the back of Link's head (Sheik), and past upholstery and concrete to the bottom of the seas (Zelda). It didn't help that the glorious weather of yesterday had insisted on remaining, causing quite the contrast to Zelda and Sheik's dark moods as they glowered at the insensitive, perky sky.

Zelda didn't know how she was going to get by. She didn't know how she was going to keep going, didn't know how she was going to continue forward. Of course, she would plant one foot in front of the other and follow her path forward as best she could, but what if she fell? What if she was stricken down and couldn't move forward? What if she was trod upon by her enemies?

What if she died? Or what if worse happened- she lived on in a state of agony, a vessel, a husk, a slave to do the dark lord's bidding, unable to act, unable to fight?

No. She would fight.

Suddenly, Sheik turned his ruby eyes on her and smiled. And though no words were spoken, Zelda felt instantly better. She could just hear his words in her head- serious, yet so obviously Sheik-ish that it was all Zelda could do to not let all her pain wash away.

_Cheer up. Things will be alright. We'll be three and he'll be one, and we've got the goddesses and reality TV on our side. How could we possibly lose? Don't worry. I'll look out for you, I promise._

"Thank you," Zelda mouthed, not that she would have been able to talk anyhow- there was an awfully large aching lump in her throat, and though her brother-brother?'s comfort had helped to loosen the knot, it was still there, still keeping her from using her voice.

_I need to go buy myself a shirt,_ Zelda thought. _A really awesome shirt that says "this sucks".__ And I can wear it whenever I get bad news so that I don't have to complain._ And then, inwardly, Zelda sighed. _Typical me, thinking about shopping when the fate of the whole world is at stake.__ Typical, Zel. Real typical. …I wonder if I could get a pair of Chuck Taylors, too?_

Somehow feeling quite a bit better, Zelda spent the rest of the ride feeling not-so-gloomy. After all, they had six months, by Aileen's estimation. Lots could happen in six months. Especially, Zelda thought, when you could make a loop in the time space continuum and stop the flow of things while you went to stretch out every spare moment as much as you could. Who knew? This might even wind up being fun.

In an unusual display of Sheikishness, Zelda inwardly cackled.

&-

Things were less tense that night, and also the next day. Impa warmed to Sheik immediately, despite the clunks and bumps that followed him wherever he went, and the explosions that came from his room every once in a while. Zelda had the feeling that once Sheik became more comfortable, particularly noisy explosions would be much more frequent.

And so it came to pass that, by the time Haft and the girls were back from their little side trip, Sheik had settled in quite nicely- his futon couch had already moved around in the room three or four times, and slowly and surely, Sheik had been collecting more furniture. Such as the three large chandeliers rigged to hang from the ceiling and the wind chimes dangling precariously from one of the overhead fan blades, the teetering pile of comic books and graphic novels cluttering up the plain wooden desk, and the bicycle chair that had taken up a corner. Sheik's most astounding find, however, came on Saturday, when there was a bizarre huffing and puffing up the stairs.

Sheik was unusually strong as it was- Zelda wasn't sure why, probably something to do with the actual original Sheik and his incredible strength, and with his bizarre ingenuity, a strange sort of pulley system had been rigged up the staircase that made Sheik's random addition of furniture usually not a problem- there was something different about today, though. Deciding she didn't want to know, Zelda remained in her room with a very startled looking Jayda, and resumed explaining the finer details of how not to offend stuffy millionaires or brutal teachers, whichever Jayda felt that she needed to apply this particular "high society" skill to.

After a while, the puffing stopped, and was instead followed by clunking form Sheik's room. Zelda shrugged it off- normal. Jayda, on the other hand, didn't, as she was downright terrified of Sheik.

"That guy's weird," she stated in her little-girl voice, making a face.

"Yes he is," Zelda agreed, but then she turned to Jayda, smiling. "And that's why we have to love him. It's weird people like him that keep the world from getting boring."

"Is he living with us for as long as you are?"

"He is." Zelda nodded, and then shrugged. "Sheik is very solitary, though. You probably won't have to deal with him too much, and I'm sure you'll get used to him in time. After all, you got used to me, didn't you?"

Jayda took a long look at the bedroom door, and then back at Zelda. "Your eyes aren't funny colored, though."

"My eyes are purple," Zelda stated, smiling. "That's a pretty funny color for eyes."

"They're pretty, though. Sheik's are red. It scares me."

"Saria has green hair and she doesn't scare you. Why should Sheik be any different?"

Jayda shrugged and then replied plainly, "because he's a boy and he's weird."

Zelda was certain that if Sheik had heard this particular part of the conversation, a little part of him would have died inside- through from stupefaction or glee, she wasn't quite sure.

&-

Later that evening, Zelda went in to check on Sheik, long after the constant bumps and scrapings had died down to the mere, infrequent explosion.

"Yo, Sheik?" Gently, Zelda rapped on the door with the back of her gloved knuckles, her left hand on the doorknob. "Can I come in?"

Somewhere within, Zelda heard a yes, and thus carefully opened the door. Sheik was nowhere to be found.

"Sheik?" Zelda asked, looking to her left, to the futon couch. No Sheik. Directly in front of her, the desk, and the bicycle. No Sheik. And then, to her right…

"A refrigerator."

"Yup!" Trumpeted Sheik, bursting out of the bottom compartment, a pair of purple boxers hanging off one ear. "Do you like it?"

"A refrigerator," Zelda repeated blandly, taking in the white monstrosity. An older model, from the early ninties… at least he hadn't stolen it. Hopefully. "Are you concussed?"

"I got it at a garage sale. I'm going to fix it."

"Fix it," Zelda stated plainly as she took a look in the fridge herself. "For what? Oh goddesses…"

On the shelves that normally housed dairy byproducts and other perishable goods, there were clothes. "You want to keep your clothing cool."

"Never know when a heat wave might hit!" Sheik proclaimed merrily, pulling the boxers off his ear and tossing them in the vegetable drawer. "And I could keep soft drinks and things in there too, and icecream in the freezer."

"You're a pest," Zelda replied, shaking her head and closing the refrigerator door. "I'd be ashamed of having you as my brother if you weren't so darn cute."

"What can I say? I am a shameful being. And a cute being, that too. Shamefully cute. And inventive. How many other people would have thought of using a fridge as an armoire?"

"Go ask someone at the insane asylum. I'm sure they'll let you know after they give you a nice new white coat."

"Could I sew fringe and rhinestones on it?" Sheik asked, his eyes lighting up. Zelda snorted with laughter, shaking her head.

"You are one weird boy."

&-

Several days later, training with Impa began. After a long evening running, jumping, climbing, rolling, and learning the basic ways of fight, Zelda was feeling utterly hopeless, and she still had homework from the ever-present bane that was school. Zelda halfway thought about slinking away to Hyrule and doing her homework there, but she was mostly sure that Aileen would definitely not approve of such use of her innate gift. So what did Zelda do?

Feel sorry for herself, of course.

Sheik was nowhere to be found, which was most unfortunate- it seemed after the brutal beating he'd taken from Impa, he'd hidden in his refrigerator or something and wouldn't come out. For lack of anything to do, Zelda decided to pester Link.

And by pester, that of course meant sneak into his room, pounce him, wrap her arms around him as tight as she could and refuse to let go.

"Whassahoosawha?" he grunted, being jerked abruptly from his nap on the dingy couch in front of his TV, which shone with the light of a steady pause screen, a gamecube controller that had slipped out from Link's grasp lying on the floor. "Zelda, is something wrong?"

"I'm not feeling so hot," she mumbled against his shoulder, clinging to him. "I need a hug."

"Oh, Zelda…" Link shifted to draw her up against him, leaning back against one of the arms of the couch and wrapping her up in his embrace. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked into her hair.

Zelda hesitated as the story of all her woes nearly bubbled from her lips. She clamed her mouth shut, however, burrowing more securely into the soft rumpled fabric of Link's shirt, and shook her head. "Mmp-mm."

"I'm sorry, Zelda," he murmured, stroking her hair. He sighed, tilting his head back, and closed his eyes to the ceiling. "If only I could take away all your pain…"

Her arms tightened around him. "I wish… I wish things didn't have to be like this."

Link didn't bother questioning what "like this" might have meant- he knew, without having to ask, that she meant the invisible wall keeping them apart.

"I know," he sighed softly. "So do I, with all my heart."

And that was when, somewhere far away downstairs, the doorbell rang. Link sat up, pulling Zelda with him, and looked at her in confusion.

"Who the heck calls on people at this hour?" And true- it was nearly 10:30 on a Tuesday night. Link stood, his hand sliding down to clasp with Zelda's, and he tugged her up from the couch, leading her from the room as the front door opened downstairs. They heard Impa's polite, "may I help you?"

"I'm here to see Link," replied an unfamiliar girl's voice. "I was informed he resides here."

"Might I ask why you need to see him?"

The girl coughed, and, rounding the landing, Zelda noticed something strange about her, something familiar... as she made to step forward, Link pulled her back around the corner, holding a finger to his mouth and listening.

"I've come to return something that belongs to him by birthright. I don't know if I look like him or not, but… please don't turn me away. I was sent here."

"By who?" Impa asked, voice carefully guarded.

"I'm afraid you wouldn't believe me if I told you. But please, let me in. It's high time I talked to him. You see, I haven't seen him in, well… ever. But I've heard lots about him. In fact, you could almost say I've been waiting for this moment my whole life."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm his younger sister, Aryll."

Link's hand turned to stone in Zelda's grasp. She looked to him, openmouthed, afraid of his reaction. His face was a mask of shock as he stood there, eyes wide, lips barely parted.

"Oh Link…" Zelda whispered, bringing her free hand up to touch his cheek. "Link…"

Downstairs, Impa seemed to have recovered.

"Please, Aryll, come in. Sit down. Have a drink. But you'll have to forgive me, my daughters are asleep and my husband is still at work, so understandably I'm a little tense…"

"I'm terribly sorry. I wouldn't have come at such an hour if it wasn't absolutely urgent."

"Of course, of course. Please, sit down. I'll go fetch Link…"

He unfroze.

"Come with me, Zelda," he pleaded, squeezing her fingers. "I can't… not alone…"

"Sheik will need to come, too," Zelda informed him. "If this is about… what I think it's about… Sheik is important."

"Yes, you're right." Link's face was still pale. "Do you know where he is?"

"I… oh… hold on…." Zelda pulled her left hand free from Link's right and held it in her own, thinking hard for a moment, using their shared triforce to find him. "He's in the basement, I think. Took me a while to remember," she added, smiling at Link. "We'll knock on the door when we pass by. Don't worry," she added quietly, softly kissing Link's cheek. "Everything will be fine."

Zelda pulled a shaky Link down the staircase just as Impa started up.

"Oh…" she said softly. "I take it you two overheard. Zelda…" Impa made eye contact with her charge and nodded once, slowly. "Expect the worst. I'll fetch Sheik."

"He's in the basement," Zelda told her guardian, and Impa nodded again, and then cast her eyes on her son.

"I'm sorry, Link. I truly am."

Impa turned and made for the basement, and Zelda continued to pull a shocked Link down the staircase. After what seemed like forever but was really no time at all, they were at the bottom, and then walking down the hallway to the kitchen. And there in one of the chairs was the girl Zelda had seen at the front door, but up close, it was much, much more obvious that she was Link's sister, from the golden wheat of her hair to the impossible bright blue of her eyes, almost blindingly so, just like Link's. She was dressed in a loose blue peasant blouse and a pair of barely-baggy white pants, the cautiously coiling wheat strands of her hair braided behind her, throwing into view the two golden triangle earrings that she wore- triforce earrings. In her hand was a dark mahogany box, much like the one passed down through Zelda's line, though this one had an air of something different about it, something otherworldly.

As Zelda and Link entered the kitchen, Aryll looked up, her harsh expression melting away briefly into a soft smile, and then Zelda realized that she couldn't be much younger than Link at all- fourteen or fifteen was her guess.

"Link." She stood from the table. "From your shocked expression, you overheard my introduction to your mother. This must be… awfully surprising, to say the least."

"You're my sister? I didn't know I had a sister… you're so young… how did you find me?" And then the questions were pouring out of his mouth. "Were you adopted? Have you been living at an orphanage? Do I have any other siblings? Or do you know our parents? Are they dead? Are they alive? What are they like? Why did they…" He stopped, closing his eyes and gulping, taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I suppose you're going to tell me everything, right?"

"As soon as your mother returns, though I have the feeling she already knows. …who is this?" Aryll seemed, for the first time, to have noticed Zelda. "You look awfully familiar…"

Sheik and Impa walked in just as Zelda said, "I note your triforce earrings… I have a pair just like them. I assume your patron goddess is Faore? My own is Nayru, but I wasn't given much of a choice as I was pre-ordained to her by fate."

Aryll went stark white, the expression of shock on her face much like the one on Link's. And then, to everybody's surprise, she dropped a low curtsy. "Highness… what on earth are you doing here?"

"It's a long story. I'm still Zelda, though. For now, anyway," she added slightly morosely. She turned and smiled at Sheik. "This is my counterpart, Sheik. Or perhaps I am his. Neither of us are really sure who is who."

Aryll curtsied again to Sheik. "Pleasure to meet you, Sheik. I wasn't expecting you to manifest, so I must say that this is a surprise."

"Not a wholly unpleasant one, I hope," Sheik stated wryly. "Aryll. You look a lot like Link."

Impa was looking torn between sadness and amusement, and Link looked downright befuddled. "Anybody going to tell me what's going on?" he asked, looking from Zelda to Sheik to Aryll. "What's this about Zelda being a highness? And a triumph fork and fairiess and naboo? And manifestation? What?" He looked between Impa, Sheik, Zelda, and Aryll, and then stated, "this is an elaborate prank, isn't it? Well ha ha, very funny. I'm not laughing."

"Please sit down, Link," Zelda said, tugging him towards the table. "You'll need to."

The five of them all sat down around the round table, Aryll setting the box down in front of her as she settled. But it was not Link who she addressed first, but Zelda.

"Highness," Aryll began, placing her hands on either side of the box, "the other half of the key rests in this box. None can open it, however, save for the ordained one who might break the curse, as I'm sure you've come to understand." Aryll looked about at the whole table then, and, addressing everybody, said, "Link and I come from an ancient family that has made it its business to keep tabs on the rebirths of certain important figures. The Link with whom the curse began sealed the key inside this very box, encased it in magic, and entrusted it to his dearest friends, with the instruction to pass it down through the generations. This was the start of the line from which my brother and I have descended. The cause for its roots, however…"

"…Zelda, you told me that legend once," Link said, turning to her suddenly. "About the hero who fell in love with the princes, right? But she was married, and the hero got angry…"

"I'm glad you know the story. That saves me the time of retelling it," Aryll stated. "Highness, I assume you told him the whole story?"

"All that I know," Zelda replied simply. Aryll nodded.

"I assume, then, that you were unaware that after the Hero of Time mysteriously vanished past even the reach of his friendship with my ancestor, he had a son, also named after him. Where, we were never able to verify. But he appeared some eighteen years after the Hero's disappearance, and wed into my family. He, like his father too, seemed to be in a state of mourning and wishing to move on- as though he'd been running from something, but was unsure what.

"After this, it became custom in my family for each incarnate of the Hero to be wed into the family, somehow. Unfortunately, none were able to open this box, and none were able to bridge the gap between times. So we ploughed on, pulling a new Link into the family every five generations somehow.

"There was a recurring pattern with the men who bore the mark of the hero. They each had been raised orphans and had a strange affinity for swords and nature, and gentle blond women. I don't believe that there was ever a Link who fell in love with one of the royal line," Aryll added at Zelda and Sheik's expression of surprise, "though they were most often knights. Several, even, were particularly famous leaders of the crusades, or historical figures."

"Such as?" Sheik asked, brows furrowed. Aryll smiled sweetly at him.

"Lancelot, for one." At the expression of confusion on everybody's faces, she clarified, "not all the links were called Link. His memory was not so strongly carried down of that of her highness. Another thing that baffled my family was the seeming random choice of the triforce in its carrier. We have yet to this day to have traced any pattern of its descent. But when Link here was born, we knew that he was the next in line, at long last- after having wed so many of the Heroes into our line, we ourselves had finally produced one. But we had to follow the trend.

"That's why you were sent to an orphanage, Link. You had to be raised an orphan. The goddesses themselves ordained it to our mother in a dream. But, Link, as of now you're the very age that the legendary hero was when he stepped forth to fight the ultimate evil, and it's time for your trial." Aryll pushed the box across the table. "I know for a fact that half of the key to destiny is in that box, but what else, none know, save for the legendary hero."

"I…" Link looked down at the box, swallowing. "What if I can't open it?"

"Then you must consider yourself both blessed and cursed," Impa spoke up. "Because it means that you are not meant to carry the burden of a hero, but at the same time, it means that Zelda is still under a curse."

"Zelda?" Link looked up at her then, and she saw all the uncertain emotions clashing in her eyes. "Zelda, do you believe all this?"

Slowly, she nodded, removing the glove on the back of her hand.

"It's the only thing that explains this. It's logical. It fits in with all the old myths."

"Sheik? You too?"

Sheik mutely nodded, red eyes unreadable. Times like this, when Sheik was at his most intense, it was all Zelda could do to not be terrified of him.

"I'm surrounded by lunatics." And still, Link stared at the box. Finally, he lifted his hands to the box and slowly picked it up, turning it over in his hands. He traced the triforce carved into the top of the box, inspecting it carefully. Zelda noted that there were no hinges or seams- it was almost as though the box had fallen perfectly out of the sky with no way of opening. And then Link's eyes narrowed as he tapped the box and it rattled ever so slightly.

"It'll open," he said simply, holding the box by either side. "It's a trick. A puzzle box." Link slammed his hands hard against either side of the box and the triforce carved into the top popped up. Eyeing the box carefully, Link pushed the triforce back in, and with a silent click, the box opened, invisible lines running carefully across the grain of the wood thickening until there was space enough to grip the lid and pull it off, which Link did.

There was a whoosh of air as everybody at the table exhaled. Link looked down into the box stoically for a moment, and then shut the lid once more.

"Let me guess," he said. "Because I opened this box, I'm now condemned to a fate of impossible burdens for… ever, and to eternal unrequited love and to die broken and alone on some strange battlefield with a sword in hand, even though that sort of thing never happens anymore?"

"Wrong." Impa was smiling through the tears rolling down her cheeks. "It means that you can choose your path and make your own destiny. You've opened Pandora's Box and now you must fight the evils it unleashed, but you, unlike the other Links, have choice and hope. You can break the curse on your line and on Zelda and Sheik's."

"If I live," Link responded quietly. He scratched the back of his left hand, on which there was the faintest of bruises in the rough shape of a triangle. He looked surprised for a moment, but then his face hardened with resolve as he looked back up at Aryll- at his sister.

"Tell me everything I need to know."

&-

It had been strange sitting around the warm wooden table under the yellow kitchen lights talking about the ultimate evil and destiny, but Zelda supposed that Link had taken things well. Relatively so, at least.

At any rate, it had been an excruciatingly long night- Aryll was sleeping in the last empty bedroom, the guest room, Haft had finally come home from work around one, too tired to ask who the strange girl was, and Sheik had vanished back down to the basement again. Impa was moody and pensive, and Zelda was alternately exuberant and morose. There was hope for her, hope for Link- they could be together forever, she was certain, but at the same time, she'd have given her life to see him happy and without such a monstrous burden. But here he was, the next Hero of Time. Her heart broke for him.

Perhaps that's why she found herself sneaking across the hallway to his room that night and sliding smoothly between his sheets to cling to him. He stiffened at her touch, and then slowly relaxed, looping an arm around her as she snuggled up to him.

"Why didn't you tell me you're a princess?" he finally whispered throatily. "For real, I mean."

"I couldn't. I wish I wasn't. But I am… though it doesn't change who I am."

"And when this place, Hyrule… when it comes back, will you have to leave me and go there?"

"We'll go there together," she said softly. "I'll take you with me. You'll get to see my kingdom…"

"How will you rule there? How will it all work? I don't understand. A pre-medieval kingdom is going to resurface in the middle of the Mediterranean ocean and you're going to go be its princess?"

"There are people still there, awaiting its manifestation. They're frozen now, but they'll need guidance when it comes back. I have the legal papers as well, the deeds. Right now, it's for a plot of ocean, but when it's back… not to mention there are paintings of my predecessors hanging on the walls. One Zelda looked almost exactly like me… though we all look quite a bit alike. The world is going to change, Link. I wish it wasn't, but it will…"

"How do you know so much about Hyrule, Zelda?" He murmured into her hair. Her throat constricted, the next words coming out very hard.

"I've been there."

Apparently, Link's brain was too tired to register the outlandishness of this claim. She felt him smile against her skin, though, as he yawned. "Tell me about it?"

"It's very beautiful," she said softly. "Everything is green and alive. The waters are pure and clear… there's no pollution or anything in them. There are lots of flowers in Hyrule, especially in the castle, which is built of beautiful white stone. Outside the castle, there's a town, and in the town is a place called the Temple of Time. It puts Notre Dame to shame, Link. You'll like it there very much, I think. It's beautiful. And then, outside of the town, there's a beautiful green meadow that stretches as far as the eye can see…"

He sighed, and then his breathing was steady and even, slow. Link had fallen asleep. Carefully, Zelda looked up and kissed his lips, which were slightly open in dreaming.

"There's hope for us yet," she whispered softly against his jaw, and then allowed herself to wash slowly into sleep in the comfort of Link's arms.

&-

**Uploaded ****Monday, July 18, 2005**

**Approx. ****10:00 PM**

_Sheik's notes:_ Hello everybody! I am return to answer more questions. It disappoints me that I received so few in the mail… everybody should send more. NOW.

To **FrizzMedusa**, who asked, who has the other half of the ocarina… I'm sure you know now.

To **superdave**, who asked if Ganon is planning a conquest of the entire world: Flip a quarter. You decide.

To **RavenTay**- Lyxie didn't ask who Ganondorf was, she asked who holds the triforce of power. There could have been a difference! And if Lyxie did actually ask who Ganondorf was, I will bacon her just for you.

To **AngelWing**- thank you very much for the lollipops! Also, I hope that this chapter has answered your questions. nodnodnod

To **Hopeless Maiden**, who asked if Link will be receiving the Triforce of Courage anytime soon, and also wanted to know if Zelda would act on her love for Link and if there would be consequences… the first has been made obvious, I hope- it is slowly taking form in him. The second question, however, is difficult…the two will attempt to reunite the ocarina of time, but ultimately, a sacrifice on both parts of Zelda and Link is what will unite the halves of the ocarina, and themselves in their love. That's all I'm gonna say.

To **Yuleen75**- if you have any questions, feel free to ask them! The all-knowing Sheik is here to stay! Hopefully. And thanks for the lollipops.

To my beloved **SakuraLuna**- thank you very much for the lollipops. And yes, you may have a hug. Hug! Also, in response to your question, I myself didn't trifle myself with waiting in line and just stole Lyxie's copy and read it whilst she slept- Lyxie herself, however, sat in line for an hour and a half reading violent manga to pass the time. But she wouldn't have wanted me to tell you that.

To **Dragons kitty**- thank you for the lollipop! Also, Lyxie was very sleep deprived when she read your review to me, and instead of saying "bazooka" she somehow managed "bakooza". Confusion and hilarity ensued. I thought you'd be amused.

To **Hylian Dragoness**, who asked if modern sages would have anything to do with Zelda's predicament and if they'd undergo symptoms anything like Zelda's…. perrrhaps. You'll just have to wait and see!

To **Hopdaddy****, and also to all of the readers of this story**- if anybody commits suicide due to this plot, I will bacon you and then call Frankenfurter from Rocky Horror Picture Show (which is my dear sister's favorite movie) to desecrate your corpse. I'll do it, too! shakes bacon threateningly

To **Dragoonknight**- don't worry about Sterling. He's really not a threat, as Zelda said so herself. Sterling isn't connected with Ganondorf- he's just a jerk. I'm sure we've all encountered asshats in our every day lives, but that doesn't mean that they're an embodiment of the ultimate evil- they just have their panties in a twist. Yes, panties. Even if they're male. And also, when asking what the factory would manufacture… nobody's sure yet. If Ganondorf has his way, super high tech weapons, but we'll see how much strength Old Man Harkie has in him. A lot, if you ask me. You know, just the other day he yelled at me for skateboarding in the parlor…

To **Angel**- since when am I your lover! I am nobody's lover… I am their slave! But you have to feed me lollipops and sugar cubes, and let me sleep in a refrigerator and throw bacon at stupid people, mmkay?

I must say I have to go now. Lyxie's slightly grumpy and is grouching at me for taking up all the space, so I depart now, oh lovely fans. Fear not, though. I shall return to you in the next chapter! Kisses for you all, and roses, and bacon for those of you who're trying to cut corners. You cheaters, you. Oh, look, a birdy! wanders away

**A/N:** Well, hopefully everybody's favorite airhead has answered all of the questions posed by recent chapters. I admit, I haven't gone through and edited this one… but I'm just so tired. I've had a long, exhausting day that has composed of flirting with lifeguards, enduring friends with bizarre urges to yell all the time, and playing too much Mario Party for my own good. Seriously. I played Mario Party for eight hours straight. You'd be twitching, too.

So that was our next beautiful chapter. Get some things cleared up? I hope so. And if I really screwed up, either with a massive plothole or if I somehow fscked the formatting up again just like I somehow miraculously managed last time, give me a kick in the arse and let me know, okay? If you have any questions, even if they're silly and arbitrary, ask. Sheik loves answering questions. And if you're bored and have nothing better to do, drop me a line! I'd love to hear from you. I can't promise an immediate response because I am very busy… you know… hitting on lifeguards and all… but I'll get back to you as soon as I can, promise!

Love you all. See you next week.


	37. EEEEEEEEEEEK!

_Sheik's scribbles: _OH WOE IS ME! OH WOE IS ALL OF US! I have just received the most disturbing news… that Lyxie, the little wench, is discontinuing Ordinary Story! Now, I don't know the particulars, but she was babbling something along the lines of "not writing up to snuff" and "being unable to come up with a plot!" This is most distressing! This is a sad, sad day indeed. Very sad. Incredibly sad. I think I might cry. Oh, sad, sad, sad… wanders away bawling

**A/N:** I am grieved to say that Sheiky here is correct. I am going to discontinue Ordinary Story, but hopefully not for terribly long. My writing has been forced lately and I just haven't been able to get into it… and this makes me sad, and feel like I'm cheating all of you. So for a while, there will be no updates on Ordinary Story. This does not mean I'm stopping writing. I might be a bit quiet for a while, but I have other stories that I work on that I may publish once I'm happy with them. I do intend to continue Ordinary Story later on, and I am by no means going to leave it alone. There will be re-reading and editing like none of you will believe. Several key plot elements may change- I'm not sure. But either way, we'll see what happens. I promise you, this is NOT the end of Ordinary Story. I just need a little break from it. I am terribly, horribly sorry. Honestly, I am. Thank you all so much for all the wonderful support you've given me, and I hope that it continues, even through my hiatus. I will be back sometime soon, I'm certain. So don't fret, please! And I'm babbling. I'll see you all soon, though, I guess. Again, I apologize. Sorryyyyy.

Still yours,

Lyx


End file.
